Transition
by SevenWonders
Summary: Nothing lasts forever. Not even the Teen Titans. A new life awaits each member of the team, but bad circumstances have them reunite after years of never seeing each other. Mostly Raven/BB focused, but other characters have their time as well.
1. Prologue: Part 1

A/N:

This is a story about relationships, how they change, how they evolve. If you're looking for a story with plot, well, this will have one of those too. Eventually. I like writing action scenes, and they are super heroes, so there will be plot, but the main focus is on the people. That always intrigues me more as a writer.

As my first multi-chapter fic on this fandom, I hope to hear a lot of feedback and insight from reviews or PM's. Thank you all who have decided to read this :)

This is, more or less, the prologue of things to come. Actually, it's only have off the prologue because I realized I was writing a lot more than I initially intended. Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: DC owns this, not me.

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><p><em><strong>Transition<strong>  
><em>

_Prologue: Part I_

1day and counting.

His stuff was still scattered around the room. Boxes were still flat, not holding anything of great importance. Not that he had anything of such significance to pack anyway. Maybe that picture of his parents. And the necklace he had from King Tawaba.

Nothing else was of any real value.

Oh wait. He had forgotten about his comic book collection. That was a must.

He moved to the bookshelf in his room. Raven had gotten it for him casually one day, saying something about how having something like this would force him to fill it. He supposed she had meant for him to fill it with books, but oh well. He still thoroughly believed that some of the most epic story arcs were conveyed in comic books. She had called him stupid for using the word epic, but whatever. Maybe one day she'd get it.

Though when that day would come he never would know. The Teen Titans were officially disbanding. And at, 21, Beast Boy admitted he was no longer a teen. He had no problem letting that aspect of his life go; being an adult was way too much fun. But no longer being a _Titan_? He felt a part of his identity was missing, thrown away, forgotten.

He was used to his team members, hell, he loved them like his family. He had spent more time with them than anyone else. But now they were all going their separate ways, completely separate. Not even Robin and Starfire were staying together, which Beast Boy admitted, wasn't too surprising. Sure, they were in love, but there was a lot more to a relationship than just being in love. Love was good. Love was a necessity, but it wasn't the only thing.

He had learned that the hard way. And although he never really thought Terra had loved him back, he had still loved her. Even if it was a brief, stupid, love. But that was all gone now. That was in the past, something never to think about again.

Besides, he had even more heartbreaking things to deal with. For even though it wasn't as potent as a girl leaving him, in a way, all of this was even more hurtful. His family was leaving. He wouldn't get to argue every day with Cyborg about the bastardization of American farming or tell Starfire to ask Robin intimate questions that she didn't quite understand herself. He wouldn't get to knock Robin off his high horse with video games or get Raven to smile ever again.

...

Well maybe ever again was a little melodramatic but it wouldn't be for a while.

He started piling up his comics, the only thing in his room that was really in any order. They were alphabetized by series, and within each series, they were in numerical order. Some were probably worth hundreds of dollars, and Robin, always the entrepreneur, told Beast Boy to sell them. But he wouldn't. That wasn't the point of a collection.

At the very bottom right of the bookcase was an old shoebox. It was tattered, holes on the lids and sides from overuse. His fingers fumbled with the box until he heard a knock on the door. He jumped and dropped the old box all over the floor, spilling the comics out. "Crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"Changeling?"

"It's Beast Boy."

"I'm getting so confused with your name changes. Can't you just pick one and stick with it?"

"Ha. Ha, Raven. Some of us have secret identities, you know."

"Which doesn't really explain why you changed it in the first place." Raven sighed. She opened the door a little bit, "I'm coming in, Gar."

"Wait! I mean...hold up a moment. I... I'm not decent."

But Raven was already in the room, dark hood down and her purple eyes gazing at the shape-shifter on his knees. "Jeans and a t-shirt aren't decent?"

"What I mean is...I...uh..." He shuffled the comics on the floor and turned them over.

Raven immediately blanched. "Oh." She started backing out of the room. Her hands were raised and her face looked slightly pink. "You should really lock your door if you're going to..."

His face blushed, realizing what she thought he meant. Beast Boy immediately jumped from the floor. "No! It's not like that. I'm just...packing."

"Packing?"

"Yeah, we're leaving soon, so I thought I'd get a head start."

Raven glanced round the room. It was basically intact, well as much as Beast Boy's room ever was. "This is a head start?"

"Well, we're not all getting picked up by the JLA tomorrow morning."

He didn't know why, but his comment seemed to upset her. It wouldn't be noticeable to anyone else who hadn't spent years around her, but the slight tinge of an eyebrow and the thinning of her lips was enough for him. He could tell he had hit on something, and he was pretty sure he knew what it was. Beast Bpy cocked his head to the side, gesturing for Raven to sit on his bed. She understood his motion and followed it, and soon the green man was sitting on the floor in front of her. "Spill."

"I don't know..."

"Maybe I'm not a mind reader like you, Raven, but I can still tell when someone's upset."

"I'm not a mind reader."

"Sorry." Beast Boy shrugged. "Empath. Whatever. Same difference. Don't try to change the subject."

She shook her head, "I'm not. It should be obvious to you what troubles me. It is the same thing that troubles you as well."

"So...why are we doing this again?"

It was an honest question. There was no exact reason or decision to disband. Sure, Robin did hold a vote about it several months ago, but it was already going to happen before it ever did. There was discord amongst them, unrest. Jump City was peaceful. Starfire was homesick and so was Robin. Cyborg was getting bored with the same old routine, and even Beast Boy had to admit he felt unsettled. Unsurprisingly, Raven had been the least vocal about any of it. Beast Boy had always thought that she would return to Azarath, but when Superman came to visit one month ago, she explained she had signed up to try out for the Justice League.

And right now, he was expecting some wise answer, something he hadn't thought of that made perfect sense, an epiphany of sorts. But Raven only shook her head, "It's time."

"For what?"

She paused and folded her hands together. "For us to have lives."

"Psh, if being a super hero isn't..." He stopped, seeing Raven's attention going back to the comic books on the floor. They all hadn't been turned over, and she was currently staring at the one that wasn't. The one that featured a girl in black, her blue cape spread out like raven's wings. Beast Boy stammered. "...I guess...you didn't know..."

She grabbed it and took it out of its plastic wrap, pouring her eyes over the pages. "Garfield?"

He didn't really want to look at her. It was embarrassing to admit that he had those. "Yeah, Rave?"

"Are these those idiotic comics Robin had banned from Jump City?"

"Banned from _California_. Too bad that copyright infringement lawsuit didn't pan out, huh? I always wondered how he has so much clout." He raised a green eyebrow at this, expecting Raven to lend some information about their still mysterious leader.

She didn't. "Why don't you just ask him yourself?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure the Boy Wonder will really listen to that one. 7 years and he's barely let it slip."

"Gar, it's his business to share. I doubt he has even told Starfire. The only reason I know is because I was in his mind."

Beast Boy nodded and handed her another comic book. "They have them getting married in this issue."

"Sounds..." Raven grabbed the comic with some interest. "...confusing. Robin has way too many commitment issues to get married before we're all 45." She shuffled through the other ones. "They have Terra in these too?"

"Yeah, they totally make her out to be a complete psychotic bitch."

Raven blinked, "And this is far from the truth because?"

"She wasn't, Raven." And the seriousness in his voice made her immediately drop the subject.

Her mind shifted gears. "Are they pretty accurate otherwise?"

He could tell she was doubtful. Some of them did look rather ridiculous, but Beast Boy had to admit that most of them were kind of close to the reality of Titan life. Sometimes scarily close. "Yeah, they are."

The empath nodded and grabbed another comic, this one focusing on the green young adult himself. The drawings were funny, especially the one depicting Beast Boy as a bear with a bow tie and red roses in his hands. Raven gave a small smile. "And this one?"

Beast Boy scratched his hair and leaned to take the comic away from Raven. "That one...is weird."

"Yeah, you never turn into a bear."

"Not to say I couldn't."

"And why would you ever have flowers?" Raven raised a purple eyebrow and started flipping through the pages.

"Rave..."

"Is something wrong?" She must have been sensing his emotions. Beast Boy bit his lip. _Damn it_. He was usually better at that sort of thing, masking his nervousness under a screen of a more humorous nature. But Raven soon discovered the source of his trepidation when she looked back down at the comic in her lap. "...Oh."

He gave a feigned laugh. "Weird, right? Crazy writers." Beast Boy took the thin book of paper from her pale hands. He didn't know why, but a small blush was appearing over his face. He felt nervous around her, especially when her eyes had just seen cartoon versions of themselves sharing a romantic candlelit dinner. "Ha, like that would ever happen."

"...I don't understand where they would get that from." Raven's voice sounded off, but Beast Boy barely noticed.

"I think it's that whole 'opposites attracts' thing. You know? People eat that crap up all the time. Ha, ha." He scratched his head and piled all the comics back in the box. "It's half the reason why I get these...to see how ridiculous they can get."

"I thought you said they were fairly accurate."

"Yeah, but definitely not predictors of the future. Obviously." The green former Titan sighed and turned back to the girl beside him. "They have us fighting crime until we start having children."

Her eyes bugged, "_Children_? You mean to say that we actually..."

"...Er, um, let's not talk about it, okay?" He could feel his face heating up. God, why did Robin have to turn the heat so damn high? He was raised in Africa and he thought it was too hot! "Anyway, is there a reason you came, Rave?"

She nodded and moved from the bed. Raven grabbed a flat cardboard box and started molding it into shape. "To help you pack."

"I told you I'm getting a head start right now."

"Garfield."

He narrowed his eyes at the use of full name. "Yeah?"

"This is not packing. This is procrastinating."

Beast Boy stretched on the ground, yawning. "What I do best."

"Obviously. I'm here to help you." Raven found a roll of packing tape and scissors underneath some papers on Beast Boy's desk. She cut long strips of tape and started forming the box. "I thought you wouldn't be ready."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Beast Boy took the scissors from her and set them down before grabbing the half-demon's shoulders. "You should not be here."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"It's your last day at the Tower! In Jump City! Go to the beach, the mall, hang out with Starfire. Go to that creepy café you love."

"Gar, I haven't done any of those things in five years, and you know it."

"And you'll never get to do them for another five years when the League owns your butt."

"It's fine." Raven deadpanned. She stopped forming the one box and looked at the pile of clothes in the room. "Should I pack these or send them to another dimension?"

"Pack." Gar picked up a shirt and smelled it. "This is actually the clean pile, believe it or not."

"For some reason I am not surprised." Raven sat on the floor, cross-legged, as if she were about to meditate. He couldn't help his animal instincts from watching the curves of her legs, the muscles tighten and flex as she leaned over to get the pile of clothes. Her hood was down, as it usually was, and her purple, shoulder length hair flew easily across her cheekbones. Beast Boy felt his hands twitch.

He coughed and started to fold next to her, every so often having his green eyes lose focus and steal glances at her face. She seemed so concentrated, yet relaxed, and Beast Boy had the brief realization that Raven could have easily folded all of his clothes with a single telekinetic thought.

But she didn't.

Instead, they sat in companionable silence. The only sounds were the slight rustle of clothes and Beast Boy's happy breaths. He hadn't been this happy in a while, which was strange since this was something so menial. But he loved being around his friends. He loved being around Raven. She was so...interesting, even now after years of living with her. He was a curious sort of person, and to him, Raven was the definition of a curiosity.

"So..."

He was surprised to hear her break the silence. Usually she would have begged him to stay quiet. "Hm?"

"How did we get together?"

Beast Boy dropped the pair of jeans he was currently folding. "...umm, what?"

"In the comic."

_Why is she asking me about that?_

Beast Boy gave a slight smirk to hide his disbelief. "That's a strange question to ask, Rave. Interested?"

"Curious," she shot back. "I'm wondering how they could ever find a basis for something so completely unreasonable."

"Ouch." Beast Boy held a hand to his heart and started to fold again. He strangely remembered that aspect of the Teen Titans comics very, _very_ well. But he wasn't about to let her off that easily. "Why don't you guess?"

Raven seemed to freeze. He could see the nervousness creep over her face, and he was relishing in it. "Huh?"

"Guess who started it."

Her purple eyes were permanently focused on the floor. "I don't know..."

"Aw, come on, Rave. You're the one that brought it up. If..." He held up a questioning finger, "...hypothetically, we were to ever get together, who would you think would start it all? The answer should be sort of obvious, don't you think?"

"Beast Boy..."

"I mean, it only makes sense, since the other one doesn't really know how to take hold of a situation and can barely handle emotions."

Raven frowned, "Now you're just being insulting."

"Why? I'm talking about myself."

She practically coughed, "You are? You mean...I was the one..."

"Yup." He grinned. "Just kissed me. During a mission too. Can't say I blame you though. It must be hard to resist _this_ every day."

She noisily groaned and went back to folding. "Remind me to shoot myself before I ask another idiotic question like that."

Beast Boy chuckled. "Noted. But in all seriousness..." He reached for her hand, taking the shirt away from her. Raven looked noticeably startled by the action, but he continued before she could start to question it. "You don't have to help me with this. I know I may not be on top of my stuff as quickly as you and Rob, but I get it done. No worries. You should be enjoying your last day here."

"We're going out to dinner later if that's what you mean." Raven ignored his gesture and continued to pile clothes in the box. "Look, you know I hate parties, and not just the ones that end with my dad trying to take over the world. But I agreed to this dinner thing with the clause of getting to do whatever I want before then and without anyone making a big fuss about me leaving tomorrow."

Beast Boy blinked, "And this is what you want to do?"

"I thought you'd respect the fact that I don't want to make a big deal about this."

"But _why_? It is a big deal, Rave. We've lived together for what...6, 7 years? You guys are like my family."

Her face looked scrunched, pale hands squeezing the bit of fabric. "...I know."

"And now we're all going our own separate ways. You'll be in space half the time, and I'm going to L.A. We won't see each other nearly as much as we say we will."

"...I know." Raven kept looking at the shirt. "That's why I want to stay here and help you."

He was taken aback slightly by the statement. Raven had never really voiced herself so easily before. She never really expressed an interest in hanging out with him either. Most of the time it seemed incredibly one-sided and forced. Like the time he had glued her hands to the controller. Or the time he 'coerced' her to help him make tofurkey on Thanksgiving.

That fire took ages to get out.

"Really? Even though I'm an annoying little pest?"

Raven didn't show any sort of visible emotion. "You haven't been little for three years." She stood up then, blue cape billowing from underneath her. With a flurry of dark energy, Raven opened the closet and started to pour out its contents. "All of this you're keeping?"

"Mhm. Most definitely."

"Even this?" She held up a green lion stuffed animal by its tail. It looked incredibly old, the mane ragged and some stuffing peeling from the sides.

Beast Boy bit his lip. "...Oh...um...no. Not that. I don't need a stuffed animal."

"So it's okay if I just toss it?"

"No!" He screamed before realizing how embarrassing that was. "I mean...it's an important...uh...artifact. It needs to be taken care of."

Raven narrowed her eyes, "So you want to keep your stuffed lion. Does it protect you in the dark?"

"Come on, Rave. Like you never had a stuffed animal before?" When he was only met with pure silence and a condescending glare, Beast Boy continued, "Look, my parents got it for me after I...uh...changed colors." He took the lion from Raven's hand gently. "Mark was always there for me."

"Mark?"

"My dad thought that was clever. And here." He held the lion out again. "Since you never had one. I bet you'll take better care of him than I ever did."

"Gar, you're not making sense."

"Least I can do. You're helping me with this much." He gave a toothy smile, "Plus it's a lot darker in space than in L.A."

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><p>AN:

Obvious inspiration from the actual comics.

I hope you enjoyed part 1 of just the prologue. I will post part 2 when it's..completed. I run off reviews though, so don't be shy :)


	2. Prologue: Part 2

A/N:

This is sort of long. I have a nasty habit of not stopping until I get to the exact point I want, which can apparently take a while to get to.

But anyway, after this part comes the actual plot, so sorry for the slow start. Hope you all enjoy this part though! And special thanks to my reviewers:

_.:_ couldn't help myself. i'll be sure to expand more of the comic reality/ actual reality later.

_New york Mike: _i'm figuring Raven matured a bit and got used to the whole starting to feel part of life. not to say she's completely emotionally mature, but she is certainly more patient than she is in the TV series.

_Terra-Machigai: _Robin and Starfire's breakup is supposed to be a little mysterious. More shall be explained :) Thanks for your review!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

Italics represent thoughts or the past, depending on the content (which is hopefully obvious enough).

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><p><em>Prologue: Part II<em>

Raven didn't really have a favorite restaurant, and all of the Titans were equally indecisive about what place they planned to go to. They ended up going to the same old pizza place down the corner from where the entrance to the Tower was. They hadn't actually been there in a while, mostly ordering take out or going to other places that had opened up in the neighborhood. But tonight was a nice night, perfect for outside eating. The stars above were dazzling in the dark sky, and Raven directed her head upwards before turning back to the plastic table in front of her.

Cyborg and Beast Boy were talking animatedly, for once not arguing whether to get the meat lover's pizza or not. They wholeheartedly agreed on getting their own personal pies (probably three or four of each depending on how starved the two super heroes were), and then continued to talk about Cyborg's new biotechnology research he was going to do in Metropolis' Star Labs. Raven had the great opportunity to be seated between Starfire and Robin. Their break up was amiable and mutual, as far as Raven knew, but she could still sense the lingering love and overwhelming awkwardness between them.

It was tortuous.

Although they didn't have the sturdiest of relationships, Starfire sometimes being a little too open with her emotions and Robin being the exact opposite, they did love each other. It was obvious to everyone, especially the empath. But it wasn't enough.

Robin was getting homesick, and the news about Batman recruiting another partner (also named Robin,) made him singe with anger and bitterness. Raven still wasn't sure what his intentions were. She confronted him one day, knowing both him and Batman were practically the most stubborn, hardheaded people possible. And as expected, the Boy Wonder didn't reveal much.

"_I just want to go home."_

"_Do not argue with him, Robin. He's the only family you have left."_

_And perhaps that last line had hit a little too harshly, but Robin didn't flinch. She still remembered him turning around, removing the dark mask from his face to reveal the blue eyes underneath. Raven wondered if Starfire ever got such a viewing, if Robin had ever shared with her his true identity. But one read of Kory's ambiguous devotion to their leader proved he hadn't._

_But Raven sighed happily. She knew now she would be talking to Dick and not her fearless leader. "But he doesn't have to be."_

"_She wouldn't understand why I do this, Raven. The only one who would is..."_

"_Me?" she interrupted._

_And surprisingly, Robin shook his head, "No, Gar would. Maybe you understand a little. You suffered in your life as well. But it isn't the same. You hadn't...I watched them die."_

"_You think Starfire is weaker than she is. Why not trust her with this? You obviously trust me."_

"_Why are you talking about this to me now? Now of all times. Raven, we've practically broken up already."_

_It was the blanket of sadness exuding from Starfire's body that made her want to bring it up. That and his impending departure to Gotham. The leader didn't open up to many, but he did to Raven. The empath heard the Tamaranian crying softly in her room, and Raven, unable to comfort her friend with words, wanted to fix the situation. She wanted to see her friends happy. But staring at Robin now, blue eyes determined, focused, he knew what she had to do. Dick was being unreasonable, which meant Robin and Starfire were finished. _

"_Just... be nice to Bruce. And don't give the new guy a hard time."_

_Robin placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Raven...for understanding me."_

_She didn't really. Why Robin was exactly the way he was would remain somewhat of a mystery to her. Beast Boy grew up in similar circumstances but was so incredibly different. While Robin shrouded himself in darkness and lost memories, Beast Boy was the epitome of lightheartedness. He lived for the moment. Seized the day and all that jazz. It boggled her how Robin could be the antithesis._ _"I'll come visit when I can. I'll be working with him too."_

"_You're assuming you'll pass all the tests he has planned for you."_

_Raven raised an eyebrow, impassive. "Are you saying I won't?"_

"_I'm saying you better. He'll have my head if he thinks I wasn't a good enough leader that you can't even pass through to the JLA." Robin smiled, and for the first time in a while, Raven saw some light in his eyes. "You have nothing to worry about."_

"_I know, Dick." Raven sighed and decided to listen to her emotions. She had been doing that more lately, letting herself feel and deal with things in a more expressive way. Without notice, she gave Dick Grayson a tight hug. Although fully platonic, she poured a lot of feeling into it. Robin had taken her in, unafraid of her mysterious past or powers. He had been an excellent leader, although sometimes obsessive and too driven, but no one could have done a better job with this team. She would miss him incredibly. No Superman or Batman or Wonder Woman could ever take his place. "And thank you...for everything."_

_He was slightly stunned by her actions, but reciprocated them all the same. "You were a good teammate, Raven, and a good friend. If anyone up there gives you a hard time, just let me know."_

"_I'll keep that in mind."_

The waitress was at their table, chatting with Robin, now no longer the Dick Grayson character she had talked to a few months ago. Nothing really changed between them, not verbally or physically. They all still trained out of habit. Argued about the same things, but the air was different. The clock of their friendship was officially ticking now, and Raven could feel it running out. All of them did. The most obvious change in interaction was between Robin and Starfire. She was upset for days, and then miraculously got over the whole fiasco of Robin wanting to return to Gotham and not go to Tamaran one afternoon. Raven was still not sure exactly what happened, but it was nice to see her friend with some energy again.

They still didn't talk to each other much, which was to be expected. Ex-lovers didn't really get along too well, but to Star and Robin's credit, they were very civil to each other, almost back on the terms of good friends.

She could feel the tinge of jealousy in Starfire's mind as the waitress paid Robin a little too much attention, and her relief when she decided to switch targets and focus on Beast Boy, who was shamelessly flirting back of course. Raven glared at him from across the table when the waitress finally had the decency to leave. "What, Rave? It's just a little fun."

"Whatever, Beast Boy." She didn't care who he flirted with, but it was embarrassing when they were all together eating out. "Can we please get this over with so we can go home?"

"But friend," Starfire grabbed Raven's hand on the table. "We were to go to the bar of alcoholic substances after this and perhaps do the karaoke."

Raven deadpanned, "And why would that ever be a good idea?"

"Because it's your last day here and you need to have fun." Beast Boy took a sip of the beer he had ordered. "Don't you think?"

"That isn't my idea of fun."

"You'll never get to do this again, Raven." Now Cyborg was all for this bar scene. Raven wanted to die. "And what else did you have planned for this evening? Besides helping BB be competent for once."

"Hey!"

She ignored Beast Boy's yell and thought of her ideal evening. It wasn't much actually-just her and a cup of tea with a book in her hands. Her friends wouldn't approve of it though; they would actually be insulted by the notion that she'd rather spend time by herself, which was both true and false. She liked reading with them around her. It was an instant where she could be with them without being forced to do some superfluous activity she wouldn't enjoy.

But maybe she could try this. She shouldn't be selfish. She couldn't; it wasn't her. She crossed her arms before grumbling a low, "Fine."

"Dear Raven!" Starfire stood up immediately and hugged her only girl friend. "Tonight will be filled with merriment and memories. It will be truly glorious!"

Raven squeaked from the vice, "I...thought we were just doing karaoke..."

"Please, Rave." Beast Boy leaned on the table like a little boy. "Like your last day here wouldn't be the greatest day of your life. Just you wait 'til you see what I have planned."

Her face fell and immediately turned to Robin. "Don't tell me you left _him_ in charge of this."

"Hey, don't knock it until it's over, okay?" Beast Boy smiled, "Just trust me on this."

"Yeah, Raven." For some reason, Cyborg felt the need to support his best friend. He patted the green human on the back and just sat there, smiling to himself. _Weird._

Raven groaned and was only relieved when the pizza came, served by someone who wasn't the obnoxious waitress from before.

There were no more talk of what the future plans of the night were, and Raven was glad about that. When they had finished with their pizza, Beast Boy had led the soon to be former Titans down the road, getting more and more excited after each and every step. Raven inwardly smiled.

"We are here!"

And to Raven's surprise, it wasn't a karaoke bar. It seemed to be a small little lounge with dim lighting and soft, energetic music fading from the doors and attracting their attention. Raven turned to Beast Boy, but he wasn't looking back. He just kept walking towards the lounge and beckoning them all to follow.

The room was loud, but not obnoxiously. It was certainly much different than the clubs or sports bars her friends had previously made her go to. Beast Boy led the gang to a small corner of the room where there were couches and a nice glass coffee table. The bar was not too far away, and Beast Boy pointed to the long dark hallway on the other side. "You can go down there if you want to dance." His eyes were on Starfire for this one, knowing the alien would enjoy that part of the lounge immensely. "And we can just chill here and talk for anyone else who doesn't want to."

"Oh! The dancing will be most fun!" Starfire clapped her hands happily, "But first I must purchase the pink drink named after the metropolitan lifestyle we all enjoy."

Cyborg and Beast Boy blinked, griping in unison. "Cosmopolitan."

"Yes! Friends, does anyone want this wondrous drink as well?"

Starfire turned from them, not really expecting anyone to take her up on the offer. The boys would consider the drink much too girly, and Raven was not too fond of drinking too much, unless it were wine and the occasional beer amongst friends. But never really hard alcohol.

So when the alien heard the quiet murmur of an 'okay' behind her, she nearly jumped with giddiness. "You will enjoy it immensely, friend Raven. It will be my treat!"

Beast Boy smirked again. Raven hated the way he was staring at her. "...what?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just surprised."

She shrugged, "I'm supposed to be 'having fun', aren't I?" Raven crossed her legs and leaned back on the leather couch, "Besides, maybe getting drunk will make this whole night go faster."

"Aw, come on, Raven. Don't get too anxious to leave us yet!" Cyborg sat beside her and placed his arms roughly around her shoulders. "We promise to help you have a good time."

Robin sat down as well. "What's taking Star so long?"

"Dude, relax. The bartender's probably just flirting with her." Beast Boy laughed. He was getting better with his jokes, though slightly more vicious.

Robin moved to get up, but Raven stepped in. "She's fine. Look, she's coming now."

Starfire handed Raven the overtly feminine drink and sat across from her friend. With a gentle clink of the martini glasses, Starfire proposed a small toast. "To Raven, one of my dearest allies, teammates, and friends. May your future ventures bless you with happiness and wisdom, and when we meet again, may it be like we never left each other at all."

Raven truly smiled at the princess' words and nodded her head. "Thanks, Kory."

"No thank yous, necessary. But please! We must drink together now! It is proper Earth custom."

They did, the drink tasting sweeter than Raven initially anticipated. She actually really enjoyed it. _Maybe tonight will be fun after all..._

She supposed she got her wish. When Robin initially asked her what she wanted to do the day (_or was it technically two days now_?) before, he was really confused when she said "Help Gar pack". And he had every right to be. It was confusing to her too, but out of all the Titans, Raven found that, strangely, she would miss Beast Boy the most. Maybe because he was just so obnoxious. Or maybe because hanging out with any of the other Titans wouldn't have been all that interesting.

Though it was really because Beast Boy had been such a constant in her life, a never ending presence, that just thinking about not seeing him every day drove her a little crazy. So, yes, it made sense that she wanted to spend her last day with him.

And throughout the night's events, that seemed to be happening. Starfire, after having one or two other Cosmos, left the table to head towards the dance floor. It wasn't long after that Robin decided the girl needed to be watched, just in case a warrior from Tamaran couldn't handle sleazy men.

Cyborg stayed longer, joking with Beast Boy, and sipping through beers, before he caught some pretty girl's attention and escorted her also to the floor. Raven was actually surprised it took so long for someone to come up to them. Usually when they went out, they would be swarmed by people do to their superhero celebrity. But tonight had been strangely calm.

Beast Boy seemed to be reading her, "I told the bouncers not to let anyone in that would drive us crazy. They're not allowed to approach us first. Otherwise, they'll get kicked out." He smiled, "Thought you'd appreciate that."

"But you love the girls hitting on you." Raven said, actually confused.

He just shrugged, taking another sip of beer. "This night isn't about me." With that thought, Beast Boy scooted from the seat to stand up. "I'm getting us a round."

Raven blinked, "Of what?"

"Shots of course."

"Gar..."

"You, missy, are having fun. Whether I have to force you to or not."

Raven frowned, "_Missy?"_

"Raven." Beast Boy looked at her, face sad, green eyes large and endearing. He was channeling "the face" and Raven knew she would soon give in. She always did. And the changeling didn't even have to go into an explanation. He smiled, seeing her will break before his eyes, and said, "Be right back."

* * *

><p>A multitude of lights continuously flashed across the dance floor. It was inciting, energetic, distracting-exactly what she had wanted. It was a shame that Raven had not wanted to join her, but Starfire would make do. She was never alone for long in places like this, but surprisingly, it was taking the male humans an awfully long time to come up to her. Usually they had no trouble approaching her even when she and Robin were...<p>

Starfire blinked. She needed to avoid any thoughts that could possibly relate back to the Boy Wonder and what they were. It was hard to think of and understand why exactly they were ending. She loved him, and she would have done anything and everything for him. But she wanted to go home, not forever, but just for a little while. Maybe a year or two. But his adamant refusal made her second guess his true feelings towards her.

_And what he said..._

The Tamaranian shook her head, causing her mind to focus back on the music and colors. She placed all her anger and confusion into her dancing, trying her best to enjoy this moment and not dwell on something that she couldn't fix. She would have done anything to fix it too, but there was just no solution, no antidote to this. Robin and her were finished, but she could still be happy.

A blond boy in the corner of the room was obviously checking her out. Even she, somewhat oblivious to Earth traditions, knew that with his coy smile and widening eyes that he found her attractive. And she was attractive. She wasn't afraid or insecure enough not to admit it. She was beautiful, confident, and currently single.

Starfire waved to the man in the corner, but he still didn't approach her. It was bizarre. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. _Is something wrong with the hairdo I have compiled? _ She touched her head, but it seemed to be fine, nothing unusual. The orange strands seemed straight enough, and she was nowhere near as sweaty as some of the other dancers surrounding her.

But the boy was still not approaching, although he never dropped eye contact. This, if anything, excited the alien more, for she figured this may have been a different custom she was unaware of. Perhaps it wasn't mandatory for the boy to approach the girl. Perhaps she could...

"Star."

The hand on her shoulder had her stoic, but the voice caused her not to turn. Starfire touched the hand, surprised to feel the actual skin and not the feel of leather on her fingertips. "Robin."

"What are you doing over here?"

"What does it appear that I am doing? I am doing the dancing and enjoying myself despite your absence." She turned with her words, green eyes shrewd and narrowing. "Why are you over here, ex-boyfriend Robin?"

He bit his lip at her words but only dragged her closer. She allowed him to pull her to the other side of the room, but immediately ripped her arm away when Robin had finally stopped moving. "Star, please. I don't want you throwing yourself at guys like this."

"I think you are confused. I am unaware of what you are speaking of."

"We're supposed to be here for Raven. Not to flirt."

Starfire crossed her arms, unable to hide the growing anger in her body. "I believe I am allowed to do whatever I want now. Isn't that one of the things we discussed? Did we or did we not have what you call a 'friendly' breakup?"

"Yes...but..."

"And since we have done the breaking up, I am one of those free woman and no longer in your cage."

Robin scratched his head, "Kory, that's not exactly what free woman mea- "

"No, Robin." She was not yelling, though she most certainly wanted to. She wanted to scream at him, to rip off his mask, to ask him why he would say those things to her. She wanted to ask him if he ever actually loved her, but she couldn't. Though nearly as strong as Superman, Starfire couldn't find the strength to say any of those things-to even raise her voice. The Tamaranian sighed and let her orange hair fall across her face. "Please, do not call me that anymore. "

"But...why?"

"I fail to see the reason why you should call me by my name when I have yet to learn yours."

When she was met with only silence, Starfire began to move away from her former leader. Her mood was ruined. Her night was ruined, and she knew if she went anywhere near Raven, the empath would immediately sense her distress and then Raven's last day would be ruined.

She had only one choice to return to the Tower undetected and try to speed up her return to Tamaran.

* * *

><p>"One!"<p>

"...two."

"Three!" "Three..."

The acid like substance slid down her throat, and Raven wondered why the hell she was treating her body like this. And then she remembered the persuasiveness of the boy sitting across from her and immediately groaned.

This was bad.

She had never felt so dizzy before. Her eyes were starting to close, and she couldn't really think straight. Strangely enough though, the alcohol was calming her emotions. Even though her physical world seemed slightly more out of control, internally she was at peace. Which was probably why she let Beast Boy hand her another shot five minutes later.

"Last one. I promise. God, Rave, you're taking these like a champ."

"Should we toast this time?" She swirled the brown liquid in the little glass and held it up to meet Beast Boy's.

He scratched his head with his free hand, "Er, sure, but what to?"

"Um..." Raven's mind slowed. This shouldn't have been so hard. "Friendship?"

Beast Boy nodded, "To friendship!"

"And, heroism?"

"To heroism!" Beast Boy raised the glass to his lips, but paused at Raven's own hesitation, "Anything else you want to toast to?"

She shook her head, "No, I thought you might want to say something."

"Oh." He laughed and slid around the couch next to Raven, their hips now touching. Raven shifted uncomfortably in the seat, but if Beast Boy noticed, he didn't seem to care. "To you, Raven. You are...you're...something else. And, I wish you every single happiness in the world. 'Cuz even though you may not show how much you appreciate it...you certainly deserve it."

Her smile couldn't be stopped even if she wanted it to. "...Beast Boy..."

"Cheers!"

The glasses clinked and they both drank, Raven closing her eyes at the familiar sting. "Whoa." The world was spinning around her. She reached for the glass of water on the table, but her hand slipped, causing the glass to spill cold ice water all over the side. "...Whoops," Raven said plainly.

Beast Boy, who seemed infinitely more sober, took her hand away from the glass. "I think it's time to bring Rae-Rae home."

"Please do not speak to me like a child."

He grinned, "Then stop spilling."

Raven pushed him away and tried to stand up. She glanced around the lounge to try and find her friends, but there was no one she recognized. Her vision wasn't that bad. She could still think fluidly, rationally. There was a slight buzzing in her head, but that could easily be ignored, especially when the green hero beside her was holding her hand to guide her out of the lounge. "...where are we going?"

"Home, Rave."

_Home. _

Her home.

She bit her lip, mind full of bitterness, of regret. She should have fought harder to maintain the team. She should have explained to Robin that this was her life, that maybe they had become restless, but in reality, she didn't know what to do without them. Raven didn't want to go back to Azarath. She didn't want to leave Earth, let alone this dimension. She loved this place and the people in it. And one of those people was currently dragging her through the empty streets of Jump City. Streetlights reflected off the shine of the asphalt roads, and Raven sighed as the cold air brushed against her cheeks and created goose bumps on her grey skin.

"Where are ..." She fumbled on the uneven payment, but Beast Boy pulled her back up, "...our friends?" Though as soon as she said it, her purple eyes finding his green ones, she realized how little she actually cared about that. Nothing seemed to matter on the empty streets. It was well past midnight and probably 2AM, but she didn't care. She continued to let Beast Boy guide her, knowing her knees would give out if she let go of his strong hand.

"They left hours ago, Rave. You didn't notice?"

"No..."

Beast Boy chuckled to himself. "Drunker than I intended then."

"Better not take advantage of me."

He laughed, "Like you'd ever let me."

The coast soon came into vision, and with it, their home came sprawling into view. The moon reflected brilliantly off the metal surface of the Tower, and Beast Boy finally stopped. "Ready to go in?"

"No." She sat down on the sand, surprising even herself. Her emotions were running away with ideas and plans. They were doing things she would only dream about doing, acting in a way that made her seem slightly unhinged. Raven pulled her cloak tighter around her, a little self conscious of her actions but also cold against the wind.

Beast Boy sat down beside her, "Chilly?"

"I'm okay."

"Beautiful."

"The moon?"

"Yeah, the moon." Beast Boy stretched out and yawned. His green eyes remained focused on the sky, on the orange full moon reflecting off the ocean's tide. "I wonder if it shines this bright in L.A., under all that haze."

Raven leaned against his shoulder. "You'll shine enough for it, I'm sure."

"Raven..."

She turned her head back to him, but his eyes were still staring upwards. Her thoughts were yelling at her, crying for her to do something she had sworn not do years ago. This was her friend, her best friend, and she wouldn't destroy it. She couldn't risk his happiness with the off chance that they might...

"I think we should go back inside." He shifted off her and gestured towards the Tower after helping her stand. Raven nodded, controlling herself enough to teleport them back into the hallway outside of her room. This would be the last night spent in her bed. This would be the last time she would be standing here with him, getting to look at his face, flushed with the breath of alcohol but looking so caring in the moonlight. He always cared for her, even when she was young and ruthless towards him.

Beast Boy dragged a hand through his thick green hair. He had let it grow out a bit, and she loved the way it framed his face and highlighted the deep green in his eyes. "Get some sleep, Rave. And drink water. No hangovers when the JLA comes tomorrow!"

"Gar."

"Yeah?"

She didn't know how to go about this, especially with him. Raven let loose a breath and, once again, let her emotions take over. "You...you always live life to the fullest. I never told you how much I admire you for that."

This made him want to stay; she saw it easily in his smile. "Well, you have every opportunity to tell me now, Raven."

"You..." She hesitated, face flushing. "...you have an easy way about life that I admire. You're so full of energy, of love, of..."

His lips interrupted any further speech, and Raven gasped from the sudden contact before pushing against him more. She let her fingers tangle in his hair to deepen their connection, hungry, thirsty for more. Raven had never kissed like this nor had she ever been kissed. Dating was always a fiasco in her life, and she couldn't risk physical contact. Especially with someone she cared about. Especially with Beast Boy.

He felt smooth against her, wet and passionate. His hands cupped her face as they broke, and Beast Boy kissed her chastely before sucking on the end of her neck by her collarbone. Raven deeply inhaled, this sensation new and so, _so _nice. Her neck felt tender, and soon Beast Boy had returned to her lips, begging her to respond to his rapid kisses. She had no idea what she was doing, and in a panic, she realized she was probably not any good at this.

"I'm sorry...I'm not..."

But Beast Boy smiled and rubbed his hands against her cheek. "Stop thinking for a second, okay?" He pushed back on her, lips stuck to hers once again. His hands were moving up her sides, and Raven knew she should tell him to stop. This was going too far, even though every single part of her was enjoying this immensely. His whole body seemed to be warm, energized. She dared to let her empathy read him, and his thoughts only fueled the passion in her gut. Beast Boy licked the edges of her lip and nipped. When his hands began encroaching up her stomach, she finally had to stop.

"Gar, we-we can't."

She expected him to be angrier with her, and his actual response came as a surprise. "I know, Rave."

"I'm leaving and drunk, and this is just the moment isn't it? We're just afraid of the future."

He nodded half-heartedly. "Yeah, I know."

"But I'll see you soon."

"Of course you will." He leaned in, and Raven wondered if he wanted to kiss her again. But he stopped, green eyes flashing back down and moved in for a hug instead. "We'll see each other every month."

"It's...it's just now...the timing and everything..."

"You don't need to explain." He placed his hands on her arms. "We'll forget this come tomorrow. This... it was an accident, yeah?" He kissed her on the forehead and bit his lip, unsure by the action.

And a part of her wanted to disagree with herself and explain everything. That this wasn't that spontaneous or weird or forced. That in actuality, she wasn't _that_ drunk, and that kiss had ignited something in her she didn't think possible. But those thoughts could wait. She was sleepy and the JLA was coming early tomorrow. Beast Boy was already retreating back, red in the face and looking so embarrassed, like a teenage boy.

"We'll see each other soon." Maybe if she said it often enough it'd be true.

"Definitely."

"...you promise?" She felt childish for asking, like a love-sick, lonely girl. But she needed this confirmation, not from Beast Boy the potential lover but from Beast Boy her friend.

"Yes, Raven." He hugged her again, breathing in the lavender scent of her hair. She didn't want him to let go. She wanted to freeze this moment, memorizing the spiraling chaos her emotions were now lost in for she knew she could never recreate it again. Her emotions were strong, powerful, but the world wasn't ending. Nothing was exploding or enveloped in a black hole, and she felt safe. She felt so secure in his arms. With another soft whisper, his grip on her tightened."I promise."

And even then she knew it was a lie.

* * *

><p>AN:

Actual beginning of the story will be posted eventually. Reviews would be great motivators :)

How long will it be until they meet again? And what force could possibly bring all the Titans together again? Until next time!


	3. Two Years Later

A/N:

Oh, sporadic updating. My favorite.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter! I do this for all of you! Special thanks to the wonderful reviewers:

_fei. fie. fo. fum:_ Hm, I guess that is a possible negative. I guess anyone who's reading this right now will learn that I'll try to average my posts by 4000 words/post, which is the average chapter length for most books. And great! Hope you still like it...the plot hasn't even really started rolling yet...

_UnknownWriter402:_ I'm glad you think it's cute! Of course, this wouldn't be a good love story if I didn't throw in a wrench or two...or five.

_oI Revan Io_: YOU GUESSED MY WHOLE PLOT. HOW DID YOU DO THAT? Ha, but really. That was hilarious. Can't promise any Nazi's but I can promise something truly terrible.

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Sorry. All character names and places are either real or owned by DC. Thanks.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 1: Two Years Later<em>

"Lights!"

"Camera!"

"Ac...Act-" The graying man stammered, piercing, cold eyes glaring around the set. Everything seemed to be in order. The 'city street' was shining under the set lights. Jimmy Jacobson, an up and coming child actor, was looking confident and focused for once in his career. All the crew members were in position. The cameras were rolling. The sound stage was perfectly set.

The old director felt his eye twitch. "Where's Logan?"

This had been the sixth time since production, which had only started two days ago, that they had been waiting on the kid. The director scowled and leaned back on his chair, placing his hairy hands on his growing beer belly. He raised an eyebrow as one of his assistants came to his ear and whispered.

The old man snapped, "What do you mean he won't get on set! Tell him to get his hairy ass down here ASAP!"

"Yes ...yes sir."

He grumbled before sliding deeper in the cushioned seat. This movie would make a lot of money, but Logan was being more annoying than his ex-wife. It wasn't enough for the kid to actually get paid, but he just seemed to want to change everything about the movie. The characters, the plot, the dialogue. It was exasperating. "I'm too old for this."

The metal door leading to the set slammed as the green young man walked on. He looked perfectly perturbed, such a difference from the bright and happy boy who arrived on the Hollywood scene two years ago. He glanced at his fellow actor, and immediately sighed. "What is it this time?"

The director practically wanted to crush the soda can in his hand. "You are supposed to be acting."

The green man blinked, covering up anger. "...as a dog."

"That's the whole idea."

"My agent said this would be a starring role."

The director gritted his teeth. "And it is! Your character name is the damn title!" He blinked again, "And what is wrong with your skin?"

The green man smiled, "Dude, it's always been this way. And I am _not_ letting those crazy ladies you call makeup artists dye it any other color just because you want a well behaved dog! This isn't why I came out here!"

"Then why did you!" He felt red, furious. The director was off his chair, stomach flopping as he walked over to his actor. The green young man just stared at him, indignant, hands across his chest. Jimmy Jacobson was nearly sobbing in the corner. "The little stunts and whining you pull cost me thousands of dollars an _hour. _You are here to work for me, _not_ the other way around. Show some respect, you green freak!"

There was a snap in the young man across from him, and for a second, the director cowered back. It looked like he was going to be punched in the face, but the green man just shook his head. "I'm not a _freak._ I'm a hero. There was some point in my life when people respected that."

"Yeah, well, you aren't any hero now. So either turn into the damn dog or get off my set."

The green man couldn't walk away fast enough. He was boiling with untended anger. He hated that word, which had been growing even more popular as the months dragged on._ Freak._Why did he think L.A. was a good idea? Why did he ever think he could be an actor?

_Certainly wasn't the quality of my jokes. _

He smiled a bit to himself as he packed his backpack in the dressing room. The blond hair dye on his table caught his attention standing out like a grave marker. Frustrated, he shoved the box into the nearby trash can and left the room of artificial lights.

_Freak._

That word stung. Hard. It was already midday, the crowded streets of L.A. becoming sticky with the swarm of people and sweat. It was too hot here and crowded. There were too many tourists and fake celebrities and people with unreal body parts around him. The constant flashing of cameras, the impenetrable fog, the noisy buzzing of car horns... He needed a break.

There was a vibration from his jean pocket, and he quickly moved to answer it after checking the ID. "...Jillian?"

"Hey, Gar! How was it? Told you I'd get you something, right?"

Gar groaned inaudibly. She had meant well, better than well in fact. He had met Jillian soon after he arrived in L.A., and she had helped him acclimate to his life in Hollywood and his 'impending' acting career. It all came natural to her though. After all, she was an agent.

"It was awful, Jill."

"Awful!" He winced at the pain in her voice. She could be too sensitive at times. Most times, actually. It was a little grating. "What do you mean awful? It was a movie! A starring role! The money was good, the PR, everything about it was great!"

"...they had me playing a dog."

"But, that's what you are, Gar. I don't get it."

It wasn't often he lost his temper. It was rare, actually, only really occurring when he was fighting an enemy or turning into The Beast. But he felt the trigger switch in his head. He could feel his muscles clench, and he bit down on his lip to stop himself from shouting.

Jillian must have noticed his silence. Her voice became very soft over the phone. "I'm sorry, Gar. I didn't mean it like that. I just...well...that's what you're good at, you know? It's what makes you special."

He knew it was patronizing, but the word actually made him feel better. His body was starting to calm, "Yeah..."

"I'm sorry it didn't go so well. How about you come over my place later and we have a little wine and maybe a midnight _snack_. Sounds tasty, hmm?"

Yes, he admitted, it did. But Gar shook his head and then spoke, realizing she couldn't see him. "Not tonight."

His agent/girlfriend noticeably huffed, "And why not?"

"I think I just need some time alone. I just need to think about some stuff."

"Alright, Gar. But if you need a certain pick me up, don't you dare hesitate to stop by. You here?"

Gar forced a smile, knowing he never would take advantage of the offer. "Absolutely."

* * *

><p>"Perimeter's all clear."<p>

"The secondary guards are a no show."

"That's strange. J'onn, can you sense them?"

"I cannot. They must have been taken out."

"Superman, I can't just wait here." She could sense something angry. "I'm picking up some weird emotional cues from down the north corridor."

"Can you scope it out, Raven?"

She nodded her head, blue cloak tilting over her face even more. "I can try. Raven out."

This was supposed to be an easy mission. Her and Flash were just supposed to escort some corrupted trader to prison. Elena Heartly had earned a bad reputation for laundering money for different asset management firms, effectively screwing over hundreds and hundreds of people. And those hundreds and hundreds of people had friends who wanted her dead.

But Raven and the Flash should have been no match for a bunch of average civilians. Yet in true JLA fashion, this mission had a twist. An awful one.

"So Rave, going out after this?"

Raven slapped a hand over the Flash's mouth. They were currently attempting to infiltrate a heavily guarded, underground base where Elena had been taken to. It was a pain in the ass to trace her here, and Raven did not want to blow the whole mission because of the Flash's big mouth. "Wally..."

"We can reminisce about the good ol' days when we were both Titans. Isn't it nice that I'm no longer _Kid_ Flash anymore? Very mature. Think maybe you..."

"Flash, leave Raven alone."

Both super heroes jumped at the new voice in their communicative earpieces. Raven though, couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Batman."

The older man huffed, apathetic to her gratitude. "What's with this guy and dark girls? First Jinx, now Raven..."

Flash froze as Batman mentioned the pink haired girl's name, and turned off his earpiece. "Who is this guy anyway? He's not even assigned on this mission yet he's watching over us like we're still little kids."

"Robin always said he was overbearing."

"Yeah, but not a creepy, stalker psychopath that controls our dating lives."

Raven's purple eyes widened at that sentence. "Dating lives?"

"Well, come on, Rave..."

She quickened her pace through the silver corridor. "Don't call me that."

Flash bit his lip and used his super speed to run in front of her, casually crossing his arms and leaning on the metal walls of the compound. "Come on, give me a break. I know I'm no metamorphic actor, but I still think I'm pretty decent catch."

Her emotions almost slipped out of her, but Raven shoved the angry sensations back into her mind. "I don't know what you're talking about." And Raven continued walking. The no-longer Kid Flash and Jinx had broken up a half a year ago, and several months after, Flash started redirecting his flirtatious energy on Raven. And she hated it.

It was Flash and his inappropriate comments that made her change uniforms a while back. She had liked her leotard. It was comfortable and easy to maneuver in, but after catching him staring at her legs a little _too_ obviously when she wasn't wearing a cloak, she had consulted the JLA on a new costume design for her, specifically one that covered her legs.

What she wasn't counting on was a form fitting black jumpsuit with a black raven outlined in blue over her chest. She had sworn Flash was going to have a heart attack.

"You mean, you didn't then?" The fastest man on Earth grinned knowingly, making Raven scowl.

"Didn't _what_?"

"Date BB?"

Raven's skin practically froze. Her eyes became white, and a dark energy was starting to exude from her body. "No."

"So you're available then? We could just go get some pizza or anything. You'll have a great time. It'll be fun."

"Wally." Her usual monotone voice was dripping with annoyance. "I... will go on a date with you."

"YES! I knew you'd break eventually! But we'll have fun, Raven, just a quick..."

She held up a hand. "If you manage to keep your mouth completely shut and not screw up this mission."

The Flash blinked behind his mask. "...are you trying to bribe me?"

"You're ruining your chances."

He held up his hands and motioned an imaginary zipper over the front. Raven sighed in relief. Her job just got much, much easier. She held a finger to her ear, "Superman, my reading is gone. Either someone calmed down, or they aren't here anymore."

Raven heard muffled whispers from Superman's side. The Kryptonian was currently circling the above ground area of the structure with Martian Manhunter. "J'onn senses some sentient beings much further north. Are you and Flash capable of handling the situation by yourselves?"

She repeated the question to her partner who gave a thumbs up in return. Raven tapped her earpiece. "We'll be in touch. Raven out."

This was sort of ridiculous. Why any hated person would be kidnapped and taken to such an elaborate complex was beyond her. The area was incredibly up to date, with almost military like intelligence and defense. And this Elena Heartly barely seemed worthy of such criminal action.

But whatever. This was her mission, and she was bound to see it to completion.

She levitated down the hallway, the Flash walking behind her, being as silent as if he hadn't been there at all. Raven savored this new development in his personality and did not stop until she reached the end of the corridor and to a locked, steel door. She let her empathetic abilities run from her body, and she immediately sensed a blinding feeling of fear and pain rush back to her. "Someone's on the other side of this door."

Flash only gave her a look, as if asking why they were waiting out here.

Raven nodded. "I'll send my soul self projection in first. You wait here for my signal."

Another thumbs up. Raven pulled her hood farther up and her eyes went white.

She both hated and loved this feeling-body meeting soul. It was consuming, experiential, and her focus could never really waver. Everything seemed shaded in grey, as if a heavy veil was wrapped over her eyes, but she still maintained control. She glided the shade of a dark raven through the door and up to the shadows of the beams overhead, hiding from plain sight. This technique had taken years to finally get a hang of, and she still felt a little nauseated when it all ended. Raven clinched her stomach and sat passively, watching.

"Please! Please! I was trying to help you!"

"Do you know where that money was supposed to go to? Do you have any damn idea what we were supposed to be doing with that?"

"I-I'll get it back. Please, I'm begging you! Don't kill me! Don't-"

_Elena. _ Raven couldn't see them from the dark, but the fear radiating off the woman's body was enveloping her senses. She heard one-no, two pairs of footsteps pacing around. Two guards she could take out easy, but she held the entrance in dark energy just in case. She didn't jump down in a heroic gesture, but simply glided, levitating aimlessly to the floor. Her face was completely shrouded by her hood, and Elena's fear only heightened as she saw the superhero step into the feeble light.

"Y-you..."

Raven ignored the scared woman and turned to the two burly men in front of her. "I think you took this from me."

"Psh, what do you want, goth girl? Stay out of our way. We have important business to discuss with Ms. Heartly here."

Raven raised a hand and watched as the 'tough' guys shrunk back in plain terror. But she made no attack. The dark energy from behind the dimly lit room crackled and burst, and soon the metal entrance door was on its hinges, free floating in the air. Raven raised a telekinetic hand, and within a few seconds, the doorframe came crashing to the ground, scaring the two men shitless.

Flash came sprinting in, a blur of red and yellow, and grabbed Elena by the waist before speeding her away.

"...Funny. I don't see anyone here." Raven gave a satisfied, albeit small, smile. "Now, where were we?"

* * *

><p>He ignored the rings again. They were really starting to get annoying. He had already unplugged the landline, but now Jillian was attacking the cell phone front, and Gar was getting more and more frustrated with his persistent girlfriend.<p>

His apartment was nice for L.A., small but big enough for a single guy. It was a mess, of course. Gar didn't really know how to live any other way. There Chinese takeout containers, magazines, old scripts, and clothes hung everywhere. His picture frames collected dust on his otherwise empty bookshelves. But Gar didn't really mind. Rolling onto his side, the changeling picked up the phone and held it to his pointed, green ears. "...Jill, I really don't want to talk-"

"...Jill? You mean the incredibly hot-I'm-so-happy-I-came-to-L.A. Jill, Green bean?"

Gar immediately grinned at the sound of the voice. "Dude! Vic! How are you? How long has it been since we talked? 5 years?"

"5 weeks, Gar, though it does feel longer. When are you getting your vegetarian butt over to Metropolis to come visit me?"

The green man sat up. They always had these talks, promises of visits. They never seemed to pan out though, not with Vic's class schedule and Gar's acting. "I don't know, Vic. When are you coming back to California?"

"I don't-"

"Wait, what am I saying?" Gar grinned to himself and immediately ran into the connecting bedroom, dragging out a duffle from underneath from his full bed. "Think it'd be more economical to be a pterodactyl?"

"..Huh?"

"Dude, I'll come now. I have no reason to stay here." He rubbed his head at the blunt statement. "Er, I mean for a little while, and only if I won't be..."

He could hear his best friend chuckle from the other line. "Take a plane. I expect you here in less than 12 hours."

"Right."

"You wouldn't have the Titans communicator, would ya?"

Gar shuffled through his dresser draws and dragged out the yellow, round device. It was old and scratched, and Gar tried to rub down the marks with his freehand, tongue sticking out. "Mhmm."

"Just call me with that. I have some conferences but if they think it's superhero bizz, I can just leave whenever I want. And you sure about this? You can get a ticket? It'll be expensive..."

"Thanks, _Mom. _Being the sole heir to an estate leaves you with some cash. No worries, really. I'm just dying to see you, Dude."

"Same here. It's been awhile."

The green man was lost in his thoughts for a second, thousands of once insignificant memories pouring through his head. "Yeah, it has."

"Especially if you were able to get a girlfriend. Man, what happened?"

"Oh shit." Gar's face dropped. "What do I tell Jill?"

There was a pause on the other line, "You're just visiting a friend."

"But what if she wants to come with me?"

Victor Stone laughed, "Trouble in paradise? Ha, I don't care. I know that's crappy advice, but I miss you. And I have this stupid science conference thing tomorrow night, so you better get here in time to come with me."

"Oh, are you sure we're just friends, Vic?"

Another pause. "Your jokes still aren't funny. I just want to see all the guys in the genetics division have a field day with you. I don't hear you packing."

"I'll be ready in a few. Don't you worry." Gar threw some random piles of clothes in his duffel and grabbed his wallet and communicator. "I'll be a hot date."

"Ha. Ha"

* * *

><p>Space was haunting, dark. Black skies and stars as far as anyone tried to see. She loved living there in practical isolation; it was perfect for someone who enjoyed her time independently as much as she did. She rubbed the impact from her face. Those thugs were better trained than she thought, which could probably be expected by people working for Lex Luthor. Turns out Elena had lost one of the divisions a fortune, and the crazy, not really respectable businessman had tried to have her 'properly' punished. Lex wasn't there though, much to Superman's frustration, and they had no evidence against him but some dumb thug's confession.<p>

Raven cringed as she touched her face. She had a nasty bruise on her upper cheek. Raven moved her hand to heal it, but thought otherwise. A part of her liked the thought of battle scars, of having her worth on the team shown through the marks on her skin.

She unclipped the hood from around her neck and set it on the chair in her room. Not many of the heroes lived up in the Watch Tower, but she didn't really have any other home. Her room was nice, spacious-constituting light grey walls with deep purple and blue beddings and linens thrown throughout. Candles lined the long window sill that held a pristine image of the outskirts of space, and sometimes the Earth and the moon depending on which direction the Watch Tower was facing. But now all she saw was space. Black and dark. Empty and hollow.

Raven removed her earpiece and set it on the table and cracked her neck. Life on the league was tough. There was constant training and missions, but she loved it. She wouldn't trade a hero's life for anything else even though she never really knew any different. Unlike Batman or Superman or the Flash, she didn't really have an identity separate from this-just an alias for some extreme occasions. But mostly, she was just Raven the hero, and she didn't mind it.

She hesitated to answer the soft knock on the door, but then again, she knew she would have to face Wally eventually. Running her fingers through her fairly long purple hair, Raven opened the door, relieved to see a man in black greet her on the other side. "Bruce."

"Do not call me that. Dick allowed you to invade his mind, not mine."

"Sorry." Raven stepped back, "I forgot. Come in."

Batman didn't hesitate, not that he was known to, and walked into the room with his arms crossed. "You did a good job today, Raven."

"Thank you." Praise from Batman was never to be taking lightly, since he rarely ever gave any at all. She suddenly felt self conscious of the bruise on her face, "Your support means a lot to me. It has throughout this process."

"I trust Dick's training methods. He did a good job with all of you, and himself, if evident at all with how he's working in Gotham now."

Raven had constantly read about the former Boy Wonder's name in the newspaper and nodded. "You picked a good protégée."

"Hmph." Batman narrowed his eyes through his mask. "No one is exceptional. There needs to be constant checks and balances to every system."

Raven nodded in agreement, not entirely sure what this meeting was about. One of the reasons why Batman and she got along so well was because they never really _got along_ at all. They both didn't mind keeping strictly to business and to themselves. They both just wanted things done as quickly and painlessly as possible. But right now, the legendary superhero appeared to be hesitating. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

The stolid expression didn't change. Batman uncrossed his arms and retreated from the room. "It can wait."

_Weird_.

Raven fell back into her bed as Batman left and locked her door. She didn't expect she would be waiting very long. Batman was constantly flying between here and the Watch Tower and missions that he never seemed to be at any place for more than a couple of hours. Pair that with his secret identity and Raven sometimes wondered how the hell this man ever functioned.

Her tired body was finally starting to greet the welcomed comfort of sleep when someone else knocked on her door. _Just great._

She found herself muttering the same sarcastic sentiment when the door opened to reveal Wally West out of his uniform. He looked her up and down, for once without a wolfish grin on his face. "...I didn't know we were going to be going as superheroes."

Raven sighed, "Going where?"

"Pizza?"

"Wally..."

"Fine, go like that. I can deal with people thinking I'm actually dating a superhero. May be a little confusing, but I'm sure I'll manage. And is that bruise? I could have stayed to help, you know."

"You were being serious." Raven frowned. "Why?"

He shrugged, "Why not?"

She rolled her eyes, "Excuse me if that's not a good enough reason for me."

Wally stepped into her room, red hair extremely haphazard, shirt un-tucked and wrinkled. He was a mess, and Raven found herself biting her lip at his pleading voice, "Please, Raven?"

"This won't help you get over Jinx." Raven started rummaging through the drawers. "I hope you realize that, Wally."

"I know." He nodded, "But worth a shot, right?"

She found the holo-ring easily and showed it to the man opposite her. She could have easily said no again and shut the door. She could have teleported to a different dimension and avoided the redhead until he finally _did_ get over Jinx. But curiosity, if anything, got the best of her.

_It's worth a shot. _She glanced back in her room, at the tiny bump under her covers and nodded. "I'll be ready in five. Wait outside the door."

* * *

><p>AN: Reviews are my bread and butter. And I really like bread and butter. Just saying.


	4. Crash

A/N:

Jobs and school do not allow much time to write. I will try (_try_) to post once a week because I think that's sort of fair, but I'm also traveling a lot so I can't make an actual promise. Sorry! It'd be nice if I could be on a more exact schedule, but I hope you all just keep checking back or asking for alerts to know when I update!

Anyway, this one is finally getting into a little bit of the plot! Yay! It's noteworthy to say that the separate scenes are not in exact chronological order. They more or less overlap in one period of time...but you'll see.

Special, super thanks to my reviewers from last chapter! I doubled my review count! Awesome!:

_J_: Yay! I strive for plausible, though slightly interpreted characterizations. That's what makes fanfic fun for me! And I will try to keep it consistent!

_BBlove1004:_ Thanks! I hope this is ASAP enough...

_.:_ Well, five is probably an exaggeration. But it wouldn't truly be a love story without some complications! (how boring would that be?) I'm a sucker for romance though...if that's any consolation.

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne_: Haha, yup! I try to incorporate comic details, though unfortunately my knowledge of the comics only goes so far. Also, I must say I really enjoyed your TT/YJ crossover fic!You're a great author!

_oI Revan Io_: Oh, it's bad. And there are always aliens in a TT fic (well, at least one). But this should provide some more info...

_Shyguy1: _Is it coincidence? Or a plot device? Or something deeper... I think fate has a way for certain events to align in order for them to all meet again. A lot of this could be sheer coincidence, but I'd consider it more _luck_ considering what I'm about to do to them all (well, not in this one...but in ones to come). Also, concerning your other comment. I understand that the cartoon was designed for children, and it was only when the creators noticed that older kids were watching it that they made the show a tad more...serious. But I must admit that my story also draws upon the comics, where they do curse and such. I like to add more realism to the fic, and to think that young adults don't curse or drink is a little unrealistic to me...at least from my own perspective. Phew, I'm seemed to go off on a tangent. Thank you so much for your detailed review! And I will keep writing :)

_Terra-Machigai_: That's exactly what I was going for, so I'm really happy you caught on to it. Jillian's personality was supposed to be that-something interesting initially and then just kind of, well, boring. Anyway, thanks so much for your review!

If you have any more questions or comments, remember to drop a review! I'll be sure to remind you at the end. I'm obnoxious like that.

Disclaimer: I do not own any superheroes. Waah.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 2: Crash<em> 

Plane trips always sucked.

He hated being cooped up in a plane. All the tight spaces, the dry air, the badgering attendants saying he looked "too green" and maybe should take some Dramamine-it was too much for him sometimes. But Gar had yet to think of an animal that was faster than a plane, and he couldn't exactly carry his bags in bird form, so he dealt with it. And at least he got free food.

He rushed through the plane's cabin when the aircraft touched ground, almost forgetting his duffel in the process. The airport was a little overwhelming. Dozens of people were walking and rushing about, looking for their loved ones, and he was no exception.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Dude, you got to move..." Gar shifted through the hordes of people and glanced around the terminal gate.

"Been a while, Grass Stain."

His green eyes ignored the whispering fans around him and he grinned when he saw a tall, dark skinned, half robotic man in a blue v-neck sweater and khakis. "Sorry, Gramps. I'm looking for my friend. He's only a couple of years older than me and would never be caught dead wearing a golf outfit."

Vic smiled and immediately dragged Gar into a rather strong, yet loving hug. Neither felt embarrassed, much to the surprise of Gar himself. All he felt was extreme comfort, a feeling that could only be felt when surrounded by the wonderful familiarity of a good friend, of family. He hadn't felt that way in a while.

The shape-shifter finally edged out of the hug and smiled, "It's really great to see you, Vic."

"Same here. But could you really just drop everything and come over here? Don't you have some sort of responsibilities out west?"

He shrugged, "Not really. Not anymore. This is more important, you know?"

Vic nodded and grabbed Gar's bag. "Damn right, I know. The Titans...I miss it a lot, you know?"

"Yeah, I do."

"And it's only been two years. It's just when you live with people for so long..."

Gar sighed, "It's hard. Trust me, Dude. I get it. We need to plan these visits more often. Next time see me, deal?"

"Deal." Vic held out his hand and they shook on the loose promise. "You've seen anyone else? Rob?"

"You mean, Nightwing?" Gar shook his head and followed Vic out towards his nice, silver (and surely expensive) car. "Whoa, Dude. This is _sick_."

Vic scratched his head, slightly embarrassed by his friend's reaction to his car. "Yeah...between the university and research gigs, I sort of have a stockpile of cash."

"Yeah, I know. But don't you already have this car?"

His best friend narrowed his eyes. "The 357SX is in a completely different class than any other automobile I could have purchased in the past. This baby is equipped with _everything_, and by the time I make some more adjustments, it'll almost be as good as..."

As his voice trailed off, Gar gave a knowing look. "The T-car?"

"Mhm. I miss my baby."

"No one ever said you had to get rid of it, Vic."

Vic unlocked the 357SX and opened the door for Gar. "I didn't get rid of it. It's just in storage."

"For a rainy day?" Gar chuckled and got into the passenger seat. "Don't see that one coming..."

"What about, Raven?"

He felt his skin chill at her name. Gar coughed and slid in the seat. "Huh?"

Victor started the car and started driving. The airport traffic wasn't so bad, and soon they were on the main highway. Vic finally responded, "Have you seen her?"

"No," Gar muttered, his chest feeling heavy. "Crazy, right? We used to be so close."

Vic raised an eyebrow, "You? And _Raven_? Oh really now..."

He felt his cheeks flush, their last encounter burning brightly in his mind despite the alcohol and time related to it. _Things change_. He had a crush on her, but that was a long time ago. They had different lives now, and though a part of him wanted to go to the JLA and search for her, another side of him didn't. The whole point of the team's 'break up' was to help develop all of their individual lives and he respected that. "Whatever. What about you?"

"A couple of times. I do some work with the JLA analyzing the combination of inorganic and organic compounds that have synthesized together in different organisms. It actually happens more often than it seems. Although the more alien compounds are slightly harder to isolate and figure out the ratio between nucleotides, proteins, and more inorganic molecular structures."

Gar blinked, really focusing on one part of that. "...So you've seen her? How was she?"

"Good, she really seems to like it."

The green young man smiled to himself. "That's great. I was worried about her."

Vic turned his head from the front view of the car, "You were?"

"Yeah...I was worried for all of us." Gar scratched his head, "But, we've lived in this world before. Rave hadn't. Starfire was going home, but she wasn't. I wanted to make sure she...uh, adapted well."

"So you must have sent her emails, right? Or called?"

A rush of guilt flowed through Gar's body. It was wrong to say he hadn't ever. He had called her a couple of times, sent her emails and long messages on her birthday. But it was nowhere near the amount of communication they had previously, and over the years, the scattered emails slowed down to a full halt. "A few times."

"Hm." Vic kept driving a little while longer, only stopping when they reached a free spot outside of a stainless steel apartment building. Metropolis was shining today. It didn't have the haze and cloud that L.A. seemed to produce. The sun was clear, crisp, and Gar understood why one of the greatest superheroes of all times would pick this at his home. That and the strangely heavy crime rate.

Vic's apartment never disappointed, and Gar was still impressed even after seeing it many times before. The whole thing was spotless, a stark contrast to Gar's own home. The kitchen was white with black tile and stainless steel appliances. The couch was leather (much to the changeling's dismay), and had a huge flat screen TV sitting in front of it. Everyone was clean, besides the mess of wires and half built machines squared off in one corner of the main room.

"I swear the pullout in the couch is more comfortable then the futon in the spare room."

Gar shrugged, "Don't care. Not sleeping on cow skin." And the guest room was nice enough. Gar had his own view of the city skyline, a dresser, and a mirror-all he could really ask for a couple of nights. "So where's this shindig?"

Vic sat on the futon and yawned, "It's in a reception hall. It's no big thing. Just some scientists and an announcement of some sort of extraterrestrial whatever. No big deal. You'd think they'd care less about the whole alien thing when they keep finding so many of them."

The green man sighed in relief next to him, "Phew, so you were kidding then about them examining my genetic legacy?"

"No promises that they won't bother you just a little. You are a Titan."

_Were. _ Gar nodded. "Yeah, okay. Let's do this."

Vic smiled and stood up, patting his best friend on the back. "Thanks, Gar. You brought a suit, right?"

His pointed ears immediately dropped, "Dude, does it look like I _own_ a suit?"

* * *

><p>It was already night on the east coast, the dark sky sweeping over the crumbling city below his feet. He loved this time. Call it insomnia, call it obsession, he would never sleep a night in Gotham. That was what board meetings and client consultations were for.<p>

He had never been as good at the playboy façade his mentor tried to create. Sure, he had his fair share of model 'girlfriends' but he wasn't as good as pretending. It was harder, he thought, than Bruce made it seem-sometimes harder than crime fighting.

Thunder crackled throughout the sky, and Nightwing hunched lower on the edge of the building. He had been tracking these thugs for a while, and although the equipment they stole seemed insignificant, it was from Wayne Enterprises, and he had a responsibility to uphold-especially since Batman had been spending more and more time up in space rather than in his hometown.

The plan originally was to head to New York. That city was in bad shape, almost as beaten down as Gotham was. But Batman wasn't visible in this area as often as he should have been, and besides, he sort of missed living in a mansion.

It was nothing, however, compared to his old life. It didn't seem like only two years. It felt like forever ago that he was living with his best friends, not Alfred and his socially disturbed adoptive father. Wasn't it just yesterday that he was wearing red and green, not black and blue? That he was holding her in his arms when they woke in the morning, her red, inhuman hair sprawled across his pillows?

The thought made him cringe. Memories were better left forgotten. The past was better left in the past. This city needed him, and Dick Grayson wasn't getting in the way of the job Nightwing had.

He fixed the mask over his face when the rain started to pour down. It was always a rush to him, a game, a challenge. There wasn't only the physical aspect to catching a villain, but the mental strategy that went along. His blue, masked eyes sharpened as the thugs carried the boxes out of the large truck. They were bringing them to a warehouse, probably to sell illegally-a petty crime, but a crime all the same.

As the flash of light raked across the grey skyscrapers, Nightwing flew to the ground, landing effortlessly and splashing on the water coated asphalt. The wooden crate one of the thugs was holding immediately broke on the pavement. He smirked when the burlier thug murmured an, "Oh shit."

With one punch, the thug was already on the ground, his head on the asphalt. The rain started pattering down, and the other criminal reached for his pocket to take out a gun. Nightwing moved too fast, grabbing the gun and disarming him right before sweep kicking him to the ground. "Oracle?"

There was a slight buzz on the other line, but soon Oracle's voice came crackling into his ear. "Sorry, Dick. What's up?"

"I secured the stolen packages from Wayne Enterprises. Send your dad over to pick them up."

"Right, okay. I'm tracking your location as we speak. Need any back up?"

"No, I should be..." His voice trailed off when his eyesight caught something fly above him. "Hold up. Something's still here."

Oracle sounded nervous, "What is it?"

"...I'm not sure."

"Want me to send Tim over?"

"No, I should be fine. I'll keep you posted." Nightwing broke the connection and moved back into the shadows. He had sworn he had saw something fly above him, but now they seemed to be gone.

He couldn't really think of any Gotham based villains that would be out now and flying, and another superhero visiting would have made themselves known. The situation put Nightwing on edge. He steadied a grappling hook and positioned himself on the fire escape of the brick warehouse. He made sure his black boots made no sound and started stalking upwards, keeping his blue eyes focused on the raining night sky.

There was another dark shadow flashing above him and Nightwing started silently sprinting. He finally made it to the top of the roof, and the rain rushed around him, his body no longer shielded by the shorter buildings of the city. His instincts detected someone behind him, and he turned only to see a body levitate gracefully to the ground.

He had never been so terrified.

* * *

><p>She was expecting some sort of fast food joint, one of those stop in, pay, and get out deals. Needless to say she was shocked when the Flash had them teleported to a deserted area in Metropolis. She wasn't used to the bright city, or her holo-ring, or Wally's real hair color, but Raven decided to just ignore it all and breathe. This would be healthy for her-an experience to make her stronger.<p>

"You look good, Rav-Rachel. It is Rachel, right? I don't want to look like a tool not even knowing the girl I'm going out with's name."

She blinked her now blue eyes, "Too late."

"You don't mind, do you?" He gave a shy grin, something that warmed her heart with its familiarity. "If it makes you feel better, I kind of miss the purple hair."

It was hard not to smile a little, "...thanks."

Wally reached for her hand but decided against it, sweeping it through his bright hair instead. There was a strange air between him. He was no longer being overtly flirtatious, and she was not being as resistant to him. But they both felt awkward, uneasy and unsure of what the hell they were doing or where this could possibly go-if anywhere.

"I know this place," Wally said suddenly as they walked down the still populated street. It was nearing 8, but the sun still shone in the summer time. "It's great with pizza and any other Italian food you could possibly want. Sounds good?"

She nodded, "Yeah, sure."

The restaurant was nice, small, and not too romantic, which Raven was incredibly grateful for. She liked Wally, even though sometimes he was annoying and childish, but, for some reason, that was part of what made her like him. She probably needed to analyze that later.

Once they were seated, Wally went on about his background-more personal things than Raven thought he'd admit on something similar to a first date. She remained much more quiet. Her eyes were still distracted by him out of costume and the black hair that twirled around her fingers when she was nervous. She froze when he looked eagerly at her, wanting her to explain her past. "I know your part demon and that you were on the Titans obviously. That was a fun time, wasn't it?"

She nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah."

"But before that?"

"...nothing."

"Nothing?" He took a sip of water.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yeah, I'm just curious."

"Oh." Raven looked anxiously for the waiter. She didn't want to talk about anything right now. All of the sudden her stomach felt nauseous, and a cold sweat started to coat her arms. "...I don't really want to talk about it."

The Flash blinked, "Oh...that's alright. We don't have to. We can talk about anything you want."

But that offer just led to more silence. Raven didn't exactly know how to do this. She couldn't really start conversation, only really good at feeding it, adding in her own remarks. Yet, Wally wasn't offering any more topics, probably afraid of offending her, and so they simply sat.

As the waiter served the large pie of sausage pizza, Raven suddenly felt disgusted by the dead pig coated in cheese. She picked off the pieces of meat and wrapped them in her napkin.

Wally blinked, "You a vegetarian?"

"No." Her voice sounded more bitter than normal.

"Yeah, I thought so...but the sausage..."

"It just didn't look fully cooked."

And the conversation ended again. Raven was halfway through her second slice when a ringing in her black leather purse sounded. It was her JLA designated phone, and she found herself both relieved and eager to answer. "Hello?"

A serious though friendly voice responded, "Sorry, Raven. Wally told me about your date."

She looked across at the redhead who only shrugged. "It's okay. Is something wrong?" She refrained from saying Superman's name since they were in public.

"Maybe, possibly. I got a report from Star Labs. You're in the area...sure you won't mind a quick debrief? Maybe you could check it out."

Her blue eyes glanced to Wally who seemed rather impassive for himself. Raven bit her lip. "...can it wait awhile?"

There was a bright grin from the man across from her, and Raven felt his emotions skyrocket upwards. Superman responded evenly, "Yeah, sure. You two have fun."

"Thanks." She caught his eyes, "We will."

After flipping the phone and placing it back in her purse, Wally immediately started talking. "You sure, Ra-chel? We could just pop over to where the boss wants real quick."

She thought about saying no, bu that would have been to easy. Raven didn't want easy; she wanted a life. "No, that's okay. You asked me here and I agreed. We should end this the proper way."

He raised an eyebrow, "And what do you consider to be the proper way?"

"To be decided." Raven took another bite of her pizza and thought. "The Titans..."

The sudden conversation garnered his full attention, "Yeah?"

"They were like my first home. I don't really consider anything else I had before that to be a true family. I learned a lot from my original dimension...some things impossible to learn here, but I never wanted to go back. I like it here."

He smiled, "I'm glad you do." The Flash pushed his pizza aside and grabbed her hand, afraid she'd cringe back, but Raven didn't. She liked the comfort it provided, and seeing her grab his hand back willingly made him slightly more confident. "You must miss them."

"Maybe. But I'd miss this too."

"Want to go for a walk after this? Or we could just go do our mission. Have your uniform?"

She gestured to her oversized bag, something atypical for Raven to normally carry when she wasn't disguised. "Yes, but a walk sounds nice."

It didn't really. Raven was still uncomfortable with this whole scenario, but she would give Wally more of a chance. _He deserves that much_.

They finished peacefully, filling the time with light though shallow conversation. Wally had found a nice sized park nearby, filled with fountains and a setting sun, and when he reached to grab her hand again, Raven, although hesitant, didn't move away.

* * *

><p>"This sucks."<p>

"Shut up."

"I can't believe I came. I should be in L.A. with my girlfriend."

"...is she still your girlfriend?"

"Sort of kind of. I don't know. I'm not sure if she really was in the first place. It was never actually said." Gar loosened the black tie on his neck. He hated these formal affairs. "...but that isn't the point. I flew all the way out here to hang out with _you_, not some grumpy old geneticists."

Vic chuckled when Gar gave an encroaching older man a glare. "Relax, these are my peers."

"They're looking at me like a piece of meat. Yes, my DNA is crazy. Can't I just give them a hair sample and get them away?"

The half-robotic man sighed next to him and grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. This event was extremely formal, as most events to thank the sponsors and to gather more funds were. He didn't know exactly who everyone was. Most of the scientists he recognized but many he didn't, and the sponsors were completely new to him. "They're people, Gar. And our keynote speaker's going on stage now, so you better stop your complaining and pay attention."

Gar grumbled, "Fine."

The speaker was boring, nevertheless, and it wasn't even because he didn't understand what he was talking about. It helped that this guy was a biologist, and Gar had always been interested in biology, which was kind of fated. His parents had both been biological scientists and his animal nature basically demanded that he understood himself. This wasn't to say that he understood everything that was said-just something about the supposed implications of apoptosis and how they were recreating drugs to trigger the process in mutated, continuously multiplying cells. The speaker then went on to discuss different types of cells, and the red velvet curtains behind the raised platform opened.

Gar's interest was piqued for a split second, but then died down again when he noticed it was just a large test tube, with some wrinkly, prune like organism inside. "Yuck, what's that?" He whispered it silently to his friend next to him.

"An alien specimen they found a while ago. They're still so impressed by this stuff," Vic shrugged and clapped automatically when the speaker finally went down. "Want some food...Gar? Is something wrong?"

The green man was paralyzed, his animal senses detecting something he hadn't felt in quite a while-danger. He scanned the outer corners of the large, dimly lit room, the gigantic crystal chandelier yards and yards above not supplying enough light source for something so magnificent.

Then, in an instant, the chandelier swayed, drooping closer and closer to the floor. There were screams and shattering as crystal shards fell to the ground, and the guests scampered away in their gowns and suits. Gar immediately shifted, turning into a cheetah, and quickly pushed the remaining guests out of the way before the chandelier quickly came crashing to the ground, creating a mess of glass and electric sparks.

Gar morphed back into his human form and looked at the wreckage. "Shit. What was that?"

"You have two guesses."

Both Gar and Vic turned to the voice, only to see a man all in black with a white mask looking back at them, emerging from the overhead rafters of the reception hall. The red cross on his chest clearly displayed his name. Vic crushed his teeth, "Red X."

"And you only needed one! How great. Good to see you guys remember me. And man, what happened to the shrimp? You're like a fully grown crab now." Red X smirked and grabbed a glass of champagne from a shivering waiter nearby. "Nice party. Sorry I had to _crash_."

Gar grunted, "Wow, puns. That alway_s_ makes for a big laugh. What are you doing here?"

"Paid gig. Don't know why, just what. Hold on two seconds. We can catch up later." Red X somersaulted backwards as Gar changed into a bear and rushed towards the villain. Vic had gathered the civilians and scientists, trying to get them out of the room. Gar saw him talk into the communicator built into his arm, but then refocused on the thief running towards the stage.

Red X was extremely adept, and Gar tried adapting into different animal forms, but he couldn't keep up. He hadn't done this in a while, and it was strangely exhausting. His muscles pulled and tightened, his bones seemed to crush and expand with each animal form. His body was no longer used to this, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that he wouldn't stop him. He was practically panting when Red X raised a hand to his mouth, firing a sticky X at the changeling's face.

"Sorry, but this job doesn't pay by the hour. Gotta go. It's been fun." Red X grabbed the large test tube, the tiny purple fetus inside, and escaped back into the darkness, neither Gar nor Vic able to make sense of what happened.

Vic, after assisting everyone out of the building, approached the changeling, "You alright buddy? You didn't seem like...you."

"...it hurt. I don't know. I guess my body isn't used to the stress." He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took off his tie completely. "He got away though..."

"Red X tends to do that."

"He stole the...raisin."

Vic chuckled, "Don't worry. I called some guys to take care of it."

Gar blinked, "Some guys? Who?"

"It's Star policy. When something like that gets stolen..." Vic paused and loosened his own tie. "...we have to call them."

"Who?"

"The JLA."

The shape-shifter figured as much. Something like alien biogenetic material needed to be held secure, especially since the implications of such material was currently unknown. But he didn't understand Vic's hesitation. "That's good."

"Want to stick around?" Vic suggested, "See who shows up? It could be nice to see some superheroes again."

Gar nodded. He had given up the chance at the secret identity a while ago, as did Vic. To the public, Garfield Logan and Victor Stone were the equivalent of Beast Boy and Cyborg. It was sort of hard to hide green skin and robotic parts. And Vic was right. It'd be nice to talk to some other superheroes again, maybe Wally or Garth or some other Titan who had moved on to bigger and better things. Gar felt the sweat increase on his forehead, and suddenly almost understood Vic's hesitation. He didn't know how he had forgotten, and that maybe in a few minutes, he'd be seeing Raven again for the first time in years.

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><p>AN:

I'm sleepy.

I hope you all enjoyed! Remember to leave a comment or question :)


	5. Advent

A/N:

Ugh. I'm an awful author. Well, here's an update! I WILL write the next one faster. I am currently bedridden and have plenty of time! Yay! Sorry to all of those that waited!

And special thanks and my apologies to those who reviewed! Thank you all!:

_Shyguy1_: I agree with you completely about the show, and I like Wally way too much to make him a jerk. Just because he's interested in Raven doesn't mean he's bad; it just means that he's interested in Raven. Exactly that. And who he ends up with..hmm...I'll have to do some thinking about that.

_Deathrow609:_ Thanks so much :D I think I'm trying to combine the two worlds! I'm so glad you're liking it so far though!

_Cafechan_: Thanks so much for all of your lovely reviews :D Expect the plot to thicken even more in this one...

_2-shadows:_ Sort of a nerd when it comes to them, ha. And I'm glad it's still easy to follow without any background :)

_nessette: _Poor Gar is right. D: But hopefully things will get better for him!

_ShadowedSaint: _I'm really glad you picked up on that! I sort of hate rushed relationships, so I hope I get this pacing right!

_Zenia: _Ha, that's a good point. I would assume all of them would join it eventually, but then this wouldn't be so interesting, right? Thanks!

I only answered the reviews for chapter 4 in this update, so if I missed anyone, my apologies (again)! More of the plot will become apparent in this one, sort of. I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll get started on the next one! 

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places mentioned in this story. DC does.

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><p><em>Chapter 3: Advent<em>

"Don't tell me."

She rolled her eyes at the suggestion, at Wally's childish movements. Currently, the fastest man in the world was holding his fingers to his head, closing his eyes and humming to himself. Raven flushed in embarrassment-well, at least she thought it was embarrassment. She was still holding his hand, which was strange, and it was actually starting to feel...comfortable. Turning her faux blue eyes away from the connection, Raven tried to concentrate on the Metropolis streets. Night was falling here and many of the shops were closing, but the streetlights were still providing sufficient lighting.

_We should go soon. _ Thought she didn't want to end this. _Superman will want us to check on what happened._

Wally snapped his fingers, "It's _The Raven_ isn't it? Or is that too easy?"

She gave a slight smile, "Too easy."

"Right, wouldn't expect that from you." Wally snickered, "Bet you don't even like Poe."

"No, I do." She gave her own smile back to him, albeit a little one.

Wally sighed, "What then?"

"Guess."

"Aw, come on, Rave..."

She fidgeted, almost dropping his hands. "Please don't call me that."

Wally seemed to sense the sudden change in mood and attempted to recover. "Whoops, my bad, _Rach_, Let's see..." He stopped completely now, tapping his fingers on his chin, "Um, _The Black Cat_?"

"No."

"_The Tell-Tale Heart_?"

"No."

"_The Mask of the Red Death_?"

She almost laughed at that one, "Yeah, like my favorite one would be about a _party._"

"Fine, Rachel." Wally huffed a big puff of air out. "I give up. Tell me."

"_The Fall of the House of Usher._"

Wally nodded, "Oh, classic."

"You read it?" That would certainly have been a surprise.

"Nope. Not a word."

She smiled at that again before Wally tugged back at her hand. The streets had opened up to a small park, and there was a bench nearby. Raven hesitated before following Flash down to a seat on the wooden bench, the moon and stars in view.

Wally looked around before turning back to her, "I remember the view from the roof."

Roof? Before Raven had the chance to question it, the red head continued, "From the tower. It was always so dazzlingly. Completely amazing. Though probably nicer in Jump City."

Raven loosened the grip between their fingers, "Did you bring Jinx there a lot?"

"Jinx?" Wally looked back to her, shocked a little at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name. Raven knew it was a stupid thing to say-beyond stupid if she wanted this-whatever it was- to work. But something inside her was curious and wanted to ask. Something in her wanted to make sure that this..._thing_ wasn't just some random occurrence, that Wally couldn't have just replaced her with any other girl. The Flash shook his head, "I thought we weren't going to talk about those sorts of things. Don't see me bringing up BB, do you?"

"That's not fair." Raven felt her emotions twist. Her mouth became dry, caked with anxiety, but she hid it under her monotone. "Beast Boy and I never dated."

"So it's not fair because you two never had the chance to?" He raised an eyebrow and smiled as Raven squirmed on the bench. "Why not?"

It was the years of practice that made Raven keep an emotionless face. She became perfectly unreadable, a wall, not flinching under Wally's questioning stare. Even though her emotions were bubbling and ready to boil over, her voice was even and well tempered. "He was my teammate. Nothing more."

"Oh really?" He asked, disbelieving.

Raven twisted her hair, "No, that isn't right either. He was my friend. My family-just like all the other Titans were."

"Like the JLA is now."

"Yes." Raven nodded, "Of course."

Wally crossed his arms, still seeming to think about that scenario, though Raven didn't understand why. Her and Beast Boy...they were never a couple, never even flirted like Wally seemed to think. If anything, to the public eye the two seemed to hate each other. Well not towards the end, but especially in the beginning. That hatred might have turned to annoyance and then respect and eventual...companionship, but there was no indication that the two would ever be something more.

_Unless you count that kiss._

Her cheeks burned. How she had tried to forget that memory. Raven looked back up to Wally who was still just staring at her. She felt bad for it, but she turned on her empathetic abilities, trying to tell if he knew anything more. But he didn't. That whole speech about Beast Boy was probably just pay back for what she had suggested about Jinx. She needed to apologize. "I'm sorry, Wally. That was uncalled for. I shouldn't have brought up Jinx at all."

He shrugged but dropped her hand. "I guess it needed to get out in the open. I can tell that you're closed off too. It's sort of why..."

Raven flinched a bit as her phone vibrated again in her purse. She hurriedly flipped it open. Perhaps this date had dwindled on a little too long. "Hello?"

"Raven, we got a call from Cyborg."

_Cybrog? _ Raven couldn't help but smile. She forgot her friend was living here and working for Star Labs too. The thoughts clicked together. "Is it about the mission before?"

"Yes," Superman sounded much more urgent, almost worried. Raven shot a glance to Wally who immediately came over, leaning towards her own ear to try to hear the conversation. Superman continued. "Look, we thought it was a minor break in before-a party crasher- but the situation is much worse than that. Red X managed to break in and steal a very important asset to the company."

"I can try to get a lock on him." She knew Red X well, and his pure excitement of such a successful break in plus pissing off a former Titan would make his emotions glow like a beacon in the city. "I can try and narrow down his location."

"Think you can?" Superman sounded slightly doubtful. "I can send Jo'nn over to..."

"I got it." Her voice cut him off. "I'll transport me and Wally closer to the lab. He couldn't have gotten too far."

"Great. Thank you. Call if you need any help."

"Of course. Raven out." She flipped the phone off and fiddled with the ring on her finger. "Wally?"

"Yup. Let's go." He stretched his arms back until they cracked and started unbuttoning his shirt.

Raven grabbed his shoulders. "Shouldn't we go somewhere private?"

He smirked and pulled her closer, and in a split second they were both in a dark, abandoned alley. Raven grabbed the stone wall of a building. Her stomach seemed to roar. That was something she could never fully get used to. Grumbling, she complained, "Please, don't do that ever again."

"Ha, sure." He was wearing the Flash uniform under his clothes, which Raven found very efficient. She, however, did not have that luxury, and she made Wally turn around while she settled her bag down and got out her black jumpsuit. Wally turned just as she was putting on her cape. "So what did ol' Supes say?"

His mask was covering his head now, leaving nothing but white eyes and lightning bolts. Raven replaced her other clothes in her bag and left them behind a dumpster. If they were gone when she got back, she wouldn't mind. She still wasn't completely used to civilian clothes anyway. "Red X stole some property from Star Labs. I'll teleport us closer so that I can track him and get it back."

Flash scratched his head. "And where do I come in?"

"Let's just go." She grabbed Flash's hand and noticed that he was still staring at her funny. "What?"

"Ring off, Rachel."

She flushed a bit and removed the holoring. Her hair was back to purple, her hands back to grey even though she could not see them underneath her black gloves. "Thanks."

"No problem. You're much better this way anyway."

Raven groaned and placed her hood over her head, "Just shut up."

It didn't take long to transport to the roof of an office building next to Star Labs. The lab itself was heavily secure, and Raven may have tripped another alarm if she had phased right onto that building. _How did Red X do it?_

He was tricky for sure, but nothing at all compared to the other villains she had fought over the past years with the JLA. Flash seemed equally confused, until he pointed to the stream of well dressed people on the streets below them. "Looks like someone was having a party."

Night was heavily coating the sky, but there were enough streetlights before for Raven to see the numerous crowds running away from the building. _They're all still evacuating. __He couldn't have gotten too far then. Good. _She wanted to catch him and go home already. Though maybe she should have at least considered seeing Cyborg. "Though he may be here now."

"Who, Raven? Red X?"

She hadn't realized she was speaking out loud. Raven shook her head and took her hood off. The cool air hit her cheeks instantly, but she remained focus on the building below. "No. I need to meditate. Sit over there quietly."

Flash snickered, "Since when were you in charge?"

"Wally, I need perfect concentration to pinpoint one mind. It'll be hard enough since I'm not a telepath. But I know Red X. I know how he thinks and feels, but I need quiet."

The red and yellow dressed man nodded and crossed his arms before sighing. He was so impatient, but Raven didn't give him a second glance. Instead, she crossed her legs on the floor of the roof and closed her eyes, only reopening them when she felt her body become light, weightless. She started to levitate when her eyes became completely white.

Metropolis was a huge city, and Raven bit her lip just to try to filter for one emotion. _Pride. _Red X was cocky, and his confidence would be overflowing with this recent escapade. _Where are you?_ Her head was starting to hurt, almost feeling like the walls of her skull were collapsing on itself. Sweat started to drip down her forehead, but she remained focus. The emotions appeared around her mind like shadowy lights in a dark landscape. She only needed one though. Only one person and it was seemingly impossible.

The strain was making her fidget in her levitation, but she kept looking for him. Suddenly, like a yellow spotlight, she sensed his emotions. Raven felt like smiling herself. _He's so impressed with himself. But why?_

If Cyborg was there, it would explain some of his feelings, but it appeared to Raven that the odds were heavily out of his favor. _Two super heroes then? Maybe more...but I don't know if anyone else works there. And if another member of the JLA was there, Superman wouldn't have called us. _ Raven shook her head, breaking her concentration. She didn't need to be thinking of that now, not when Red X was still on the move.

"He's at the corner of East Avenue and 13th Street. Let's g-"

She went to stand but wobbled a little. Raven placed her hand on her head. The process had been harder than she had thought. She know had a burning headache and Flash saw it instantly. "I'll go. You stay here."

"I'm not going to stay here and just wait for you."

"Star probably needs to file a report anyway. They'll want to speak to a member."

Raven raised an eyebrow, "And since when did you care about paperwork?"

"Since you can't even stand straight. You'll slow me down, Rave."

She flinched again. She hated when he called her that. But, unfortunately, Flash was right. She would slow him down- even more so than normal. "Fine. But you better catch him."

Flash gave her a little salute and was soon running down the stairs of the roof, no more than a red blur. At her partner's disappearance, Raven gave a slight groan. Her head did hurt a lot. There were too many emotions to sift through, and her mind seemed overflowing with feeling- other people's feelings. Her hands gripped the edge of the roof, the concrete digging slightly through her leather gloves.

_At least Cyborg might be there._

The lab building was huge-coated with windows and the initials SL towards the roof. There were cop cars already out front, but she knew they would be useless against Red X. If anything, they had probably just called the JLA again to handle the situation. _Better get moving then. _ Raven pushed herself up to the ledge and let her body float down, dark blue cloak hovering around her body. She was happy she cold manage that much, even with the slight drain of her abilities. The civilians turned to her immediately, but she ignored the whispers and murmurs. They all knew who she was and that she wasn't another threat. Her hood was on, but she still did her best to keep her face professional as she approached one of the officers. "The situation, sir?"

He was young, with shaggy blond hair and an un-ironed uniform. Raven immediately regretted approaching this cop. He was star struck, smitten, staring at her skin tight uniform before glancing back up to her eyes under her hood. Raven rolled them and immediately crossed her arms before repeating sternly, "The S-I-T-U-A-T-I-O-N. Please."

"Right, right! It seems there was a break in during the annual fundraising banquet." He gulped rather quickly and pointed ahead, his finger wobbling. "Dr...Stone. Cyborg...yeah, he's inside. 65th floor. You can talk to him, Miss Raven."

She didn't hesitate, only saying, "Thanks," before moving past him. Raven went through the lobby easily, no one stopping her in her uniform. It was huge, incredibly modern looking, and normally, Raven would have probably stopped for a second to appreciate the beauty here. She had been in space a long time, and even though she was surrounded by high-tech equipment all the time, Star Labs was still dazzlingly. The banquet, fancy, clientele part of Star labs was towards the upper floors. It was weird though. Flash was right about the party. But why would Red X choose to steal something now? Perhaps the security would be less of a threat because of the event focus, but it seemed like such a couldn't remember him wanting an audience before now, but Raven certainly wouldn't put it past him. He certainly loved to showboat.

Though why he would steal something from Star was beyond her. Scientific facilities weren't really his thing; Red X was more of the jewelry burglar type, something easily sold on the black market. But there was nothing really like that at Star except for the equipment. Yet then again, there was no way Red X could carry that by himself.

_Something's not right. _ She could feel it. She doubted Red X had an accomplice, so what exactly did he steal? _And why? _ That was infinitely more important. Hopefully Cyborg would have some answers for her.

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><p>Gar was sitting down in a chair. It had taken a while for the JLA to come in his opinion. When he was a Titan, they always mobilized in record speeds, but it had been at least 15 minutes and the supposed best super hero team was still a no show.<p>

He was frustrated, and the emotion wasn't hidden at all from his best friend. Vic walked over after looking over the damage on the stage. No one was hurt, thank goodness, but things certainly could have gone better. Gar bit his bottom lip at his friend's touch on his shoulder. "I'm okay."

"You didn't seem okay right there. What's the deal?"

Gar turned his green eyes to the side. "I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with me." He wrung his hands together, face slightly ashamed. "Red X should be an easy stop. Sure, he was hard those first couple of times, but I know all his tricks. We should have caught him."

"Exactly, _we. _Don't put this all on you. You're just probably out of practice." Cyborg sat down on a chair next to his friend. "Though when you morphed...it looked painful."

_It was_.

He couldn't understand it. Changing used to be as easy as breathing, but something was wrong with him. Sure he could morph slowly into one animal easily enough; he had done it all the time for movies. But fighting? His bones felt like cracking, his cells bursting and squishing all in one motion. It didn't feel _natural_ anymore and that was terrifying him. Gar shrugged Cyborg's hands off. It wasn't like that mattered anymore. He wasn't a super hero. There would be no more fighting. "No worries, Dude. I'm sure the JLA will get the raisin back."

"That reminds me. I'm gonna escort the other doctors and guests to the parking garage. They're a little spooked. Just hit me up on the communicator when the JLA comes."

Gar nodded, "Will do. I'll be right here."

"Great." Vic shepherded the remaining guests and scientists to the door and slowly led them out. They did look scared, and Gar had to admit he felt a little ashamed that he couldn't stop Red X for them. He remembered when the criminal showed up, all of their eyes had trained to him and Vic-Beast Boy and Cyborg. The fact that he let Red X slip away basically untouched only confirmed the fact that he had no place in the crime fighting business anymore.

_Then what now?_ He didn't know. He didn't want to go back to acting-that field was tainted with too much prejudice for him. He had his high school diploma, but not a college one. And there wasn't much work without that.

"Well, at least now they probably don't think my DNA is that interesting anymore." He cracked himself a smile, but it didn't really work. Humor only went so far.

At the sound of boots clacking against the marble floor, his head immediately went up. He pushed his green bangs back from his head and looked up. His mouth immediately dropped.

_What?_

The image in front of him was confusing, as if in the 30 seconds that he had left his spiral of negative thoughts, he had managed to slip into a beautiful, unreal dream. She was stunning, ghostly. She still wasn't that tall, but the way her black uniform tug and stuck to her skin gave her the appearance of long, strong legs and height. Her cloak flicked past her like blue fire in the wind, and Gar couldn't help his eyes trailing to the blue raven on her chest-maybe for a little too long. If she noticed, she didn't say a word. In fact, they both were incredibly silent. Paralyzed.

Gar stumbled up, practically knocking over the chair he was sitting on in the process. "Sor-sorry." He dragged the chair back up and swept a hand through his thick, moss green hair. "Um...Hi...I mean...Rave..." He blinked. She still wasn't saying anything, "I mean, that is you...isn't it? Raven? It's Gar. Garfield Logan."

She still wasn't moving. Her boots edged together, one pair of toes on top of each other, before she slid her hood down to reveal her purple hair and eyes. Gar watched as her eyes traced his body, and her mouth slowly curved to a soft smile. "You're in a tux."

_Shit. _ He had forgotten about that. He must have looked like a complete fool. Gar fumbled for the tie around his neck, loosening it before walking closer to his friend. "Yeah, Rave..." He didn't know what to say. There seemed to be so much, but the words kept falling back in his throat, lost in the distraction of seeing her again. _Damn, I missed her. _ He hadn't realized it until now-not fully. All he could do was look at her face, the way she stood and breathed. It was completely entrancing.

She looked older, wiser, and stronger too, but he just felt like a little teenager again-some little boy with a crush. "Yeah, looks silly, doesn't it?"

"I wouldn't say that." Her purple eyes blinked at his face and then at the area around him. The banquet hall was a mess. There were tables over turned and banners were ripped and tossed lifelessly to the side. There were broken plates everywhere, and after surveying the wreckage, Raven turned back to the green man. "You tried to stop him?"

"Yeah..." His shame multiplied. "But he still got away."

"What did he take?"

"I don't know. Some alien thing. Vic will know better."

Raven nodded, "Good. I'll wait for him to come back then."

They stood again, this silence even more awkward and tense than the original one. Gar opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated when he noticed she wasn't really paying attention to him anymore. Raven seemed lost again in her thoughts, and from the look in her eyes, those thoughts didn't seem to be good ones. "Hey, you alright?"

She seemed stunned at the question and his eyes on her, but Raven seemed to recover quickly. "It's just...surprising." She dropped her head down, "Seeing you again, I mean. I didn't think you would be here."

"Same. We should go out some time." Gar's eyes widened. _Crap. I did not just say that. _He immediately flushed and walked over to her. "I...I didn't mean like _out_. I would never ask...well not that I wouldn't ever, but Raven..."

"Hey!" There was one more set of footsteps coming through the hall, and Gar froze mid-speech as Vic walked back into the room, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the two of them. They weren't in a too compromising position. Sure, Gar's hands were on her shoulders and he was incredibly red and flustered, but it didn't mean anything. Vic still felt the need to ask, however, "Did I miss something?"

"No." Raven answered evenly before breaking away from Gar's hands. "If you could update me on what I missed though, that would be very helpful."

"Right, but first..." Vic smiled and dragged Raven into a hug, patting her back. The empath didn't seem to appreciate the action, but after a few seconds, her back became less tense and she let him hug her.

Her smile was incredibly real. It made Gar's heart clinch. "It's great to see you again too, Vic."

"If only Rob and Star were here too. We'd have ourselves a little reunion."

Raven agreed. "They're probably both busy though. And so am I. Tell me what happened here."

Vic did. He began to elaborate on everything, including more detail about the alien-raisin-thing, though the information was still pretty vague. Gar nodded along, pretending to listen when really the only thing he was concentrating on was Raven. _Was she always this pretty?_

The answer was, of course, no. He didn't always find her that pretty, but when they had gotten older, he had wondered how he had managed to miss this girl in front of him for so long. But even so, even now she was out of reach. Gar and her would always be distanced. tThere was always that impenetrable wall-a wall he only managed to have strengthened that night before she had left. And as he sat there, watching her as she stared intently on Vic, her purple eyes so focused, serious, _stunning, _he silently promised to himself that he would try to tear it down.

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><p>The shadow floated down effortlessly, gracefully, beautifully, and Nightwing knew he should run now while he could. There was no way his mind could deal with this-no possible way that he would ever be prepared for this kind of fight. Not when he was defeated so long ago.<p>

But he stood there, frozen, watching her purple boots land on the ground and her green eyes glow open within the Gotham night. That's when his thoughts began to attack him, mutilate him. _Idiot. You should have been doing this together. You should be together._

Nightwing swallowed harshly and looked back at the alien in front of him. He expected her to be different somehow, but she wasn't. And that somehow made this all the more painful. Her red hair may have been a bit longer and even fuller, but her face was exactly the same-minus the usual smile. Recent memories poured through him at incredible speeds. He felt his heart wrench and rip and burst all within five seconds, all within the green hue of her eyes.

_She does look the same. _

If anything, she looked more confident, powerful-and was that sad? He took a step forward, forgetting his supposed fear when he saw her frown, "Star..."

"Please, do not talk."

Nightwing gulped. _Here it comes. _ He waited for the barrage of words; they hadn't had the best goodbye. He half expected a starbolt to the face, but Starfire only bit her lip. Her eyes glanced to the ground then back up to the masked hero before she flung herself into his arms and pulled him into a tight, suffocating hug.

Starfire cried, "Oh Robin...Robin, I missed you."

He must have been dreaming. This was what happened in his dreams, right? But no...it couldn't have been a dream for he was really suffocating, the breath from his body already escaping as she crushed his windpipe. Nightwing tapped the alien on the shoulder, and Starfire immediately loosened her grip and wiped the tears from her face. She looked miserable. Her face was interwoven with worried lines, her lips dry and cracked. Her hair was a mess, but even so, she was still beautiful. She'd always be beautiful. Nightwing grabbed her hands, hesitant to ask but knowing he should all the same, "Starfire, why are you here? What happened?"

It was obvious in her eyes that she didn't come back for him. As much as he wanted it, this was about more than their failed relationship. This was serious, horrible, and Nightwing cringed as more tears slid down her orange tinted cheeks, "Robin, something terrible has happened. Tamaran..." Starfire coughed and her head fell down, as if heavy with her own tears.

Nightwing instinctively pulled her body towards him and rested her head on shoulders, not minding the tears. He had missed this. "Tamaran? Did something happen, Star?"

Another nod. Another drowning cough and crackle of a voice under sobs. Starfire gripped his black uniform, needing the stability. "It's gone. Tamaran's gone."

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><p>AN:

Ah! Cliffhanger! Reviews make me smile and my heart happy.

Thanks guys for reading!


	6. Distraction, Interaction, Inaction

A/N:

See? Faster. Yay!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and read last chapter :) I cannot tell you how much I LOVE getting reviews and seeing comments. It's wonderful.

Special thanks to:

_Fox of the Blood Moon: _Thanks so much :) Glad you are enjoying the plot and pairings!

_The Cretin: _Wowsa, thanks so much for all the reviews! I really enjoy reading your comments. They are very well thought out and informative!

_Silvermistink_: Thank you thank you thank you :D

Disclaimer: DC owns Teen Titans, not me.

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><p><em>Chapter 4: Distraction, Interaction, Inaction<em>

It was hard processing what Vic was telling her for multiple reasons. One was the pounding headache that seemed to be reverberating against her brain. Her mind was still a rush, still filled with the lights of feelings she no longer wanted to track. She found Red X, and hopefully Wally had stopped him by now, but even that was a lesser distraction. The other, infinitely more annoying reason was the mess in the extravagant room and the one man sitting inside it.

He had looked shaken, and automatically every other person's feelings in her head faded and were replaced with his. Something had happened to Gar, and although Raven tried to concentrate on what Vic was saying, her mind was only on him. His green eyes looked still and hollow, whatever light that used to be in them puffed out. If this had been two years ago, she would have placed a hand on his shoulder. She would have looked him straight in the eye and demanded he tell her what was wrong. But she didn't. _Gar, what happened?_

Raven blinked and berated herself. _That can wait. Focus. You have a mission. _ "I'm sorry, Victor. You'll have to slow that down for me."

"Right, of course." Vic crossed his arms and sat down, offering for Raven to do the same. She obliged, and the three of them sat at one of the tables that still managed to stand in the room. It was weird to talk to them like they were civilians and seeing them dressed as such. Although it was amusing to see the suit jacket over Vic's metal body, her eyes were mostly trained on Gar. His black tie was loose, hanging sloppily around his neck as if he had gotten dressed in a hurry. He had taken off the tuxedo jacket, and Raven blushed seeing him in a nice white button down. It was un-tucked of course, but he had never really dressed that nicely before. Her face was warming.

"Raven?"

She cursed inwardly at her distraction again, "Right sorry. It's just nice seeing you all."

Vic flashed a bright smile. "Been a while, I know. We have to get together more often."

"We're just all so busy," Raven murmured. It was a lame excuse, but the two men seemed to except it. Gar crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. Raven caught his attention stray to her, but she only turned to Vic.

"It's called the Regenerative Egg." The way Vic said it demanded both of their attentions immediately. "We're not exactly sure where it comes from, but its cellular structure is incredibly mutable. One single cell when placed in an incredibly hypertonic solution can multiply into millions within hours."

"So it grows really fast in salty water?" Gar sat straighter in his chair, and Raven looked at him in surprise. She hadn't realized he would have understood that. "Why would you need a bazillion copies of _that_?"

"The thing is the cells don't copy themselves. Like I said, it's incredibly mutable. It copies the DNA of any differing cells near it, basically manipulating it into its own structure. We tried placing liver cells within the same Petri dish, and we had a child size liver in less than two days."

Gar's eyes widened and he sat even straighter. "But would it be compatible to a human body? It's from outer space, Dude. I mean, sure it could be an awesome breakthrough, but it also seems completely likely that any ordinary human would just reject it, kick it out, and completely shut down." Gar fidgeted in his seat and blinked at his friends' stares. "What?"

"Nothing." Raven crossed her legs. "I just didn't connect that at all."

Vic scratched his chin and sighed. "Well the guys at Star did. We just wanted to present the Egg as a find. We didn't want to announce the purpose for it until we were absolutely certain."

"Which brings up the question of why Red X would want it."

"He doesn't." Gar interjected again. "He said it was a paid gig. He was hired to steal it for someone else."

Raven tipped her head in acknowledgment. That would definitely make much more sense. There was no way Red X would be bothered trying to create organ cultures to sell. Not really his type of crime at all. "It may be an inside leak, Victor." Her voice became incredibly serious; she knew what she was suggesting. "Especially since no one else knows what that thing is capable of."

"We're not completely sure either." Vic began to sound nervous, and he leaned forward in his chair as if to tell her an important secret. And perhaps it was; Raven didn't know. She didn't like dealing with this scientific stuff. Science was responsible for half of the world's problems as far as she was concerned. "The molecular structure is extremely unstable. They had me analyze the new cells of one of the preliminary livers and...it wasn't right."

Gar suddenly seemed interested again, "What do you mean? You said it copied its DNA exactly. It should be the same."

"Yes, it should be, but it isn't. DNA is made up of certain nucleobases. But...although the coding seems to be the same, one of the bases is different. It's weird. I can't isolate the different molecules. We don't understand why that would happen and what effect it could have inside a body."

_This sounds dangerous. _Although she didn't understand biology too well, she could read people, and both Gar and Victor seemed nervous. What she understood though was this alien egg had incredibly volatile cells, and although Star wished to manipulate it for good, Raven had a sinking feeling that Red X's boss didn't.

Gar glanced to Raven, "Is someone trying to find it now, Rave?"

She touched her hair at the nickname. It had been awhile since he had called her that, since she had heard his voice at all actually. "Yes. Wally's on it."

"Kid Flash? By himself?" Vic questioned.

"He's just the Flash now. He's my partner." She didn't know why she looked to Gar at this, but she did. He remained impassive, and Raven looked down, embarrassed.

"Right. Okay. Well, if we're done here..." Gar stood suddenly and grabbed his jacket. "I'm a little jet-lagged and want to go to sleep."

Vic raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it earlier in California right now?"

The green changeling's ears fell a bit and he flushed. "Er, must be the traveling then. I suddenly feel drained. You guy's alright here?"

"Sure." Vic stood up too. "You have my key. I'll stay here with Raven for a while. Haven't seen her in months."

There was more silence there, and Raven just stared at Gar expectantly. She didn't know why, but she thought he would want to stay, maybe because the Gar she knew-Beast Boy- would have. He would have jumped to see her, dragged her into a hug and recite how he missed her creepiness or the way her hair smelled like jasmine tea or her dry, sarcastic wit.

...

Raven dropped her head. _This headache is worse than I thought. _

Gar didn't do any of those things. He did, however, shoot another reluctant smile before giving a gentle wave and rubbing the back of his neck. "It...it was nice seeing you."

"Same." Her eyes traced the tie on his neck.

"Well...take care."

And in another second, Gar was an eagle speeding out of the room, leaving nothing but feathers and confusion behind him. Well, maybe a little more than just that. Raven sighed and turned to Vic, who looked horrified.

"Victor?"

"What the hell is he thinking?"

Raven looked to see what her friend was staring at, and she nearly fainted when she did. There on the floor, in a messy pile was Gar's suit jacket, pants, shirt, and boxers on the floor. "He didn't."

"If he scares my neighbors with his hairy green ass, I'll kill him."

* * *

><p>He didn't know what to say to that, and he had the feeling that any words he could possibly get out of his closing throat wouldn't have meant anything to her. So he just held her closer, tugging her small, yet muscular frame flush to his body and keeping her head on his shoulder.<p>

"It's alright." Though he knew it wasn't. How could anything be alright after hearing that? _There must be some mistake. _He stroked her orange hair as she cried and cried, and deep inside, Nightwing knew there was no mistaking what he had just heard, that in actuality a whole planet was gone. _Her _planet was gone. "Star, it'll be okay. I'm here."

"Robin..." He had never heard her sound so desperate before, and he hated it. She was strong, a Tamaran warrior and princess. She could fly and knock out most criminals in a single flick of her fingers, but now...

His heart wrenched and he pushed her away slightly, his masked eyes looking at her face. "Look at me, Star. Please."

She didn't. Her head was still downcast and her orange bangs were sticking to her cheeks, tears its adhesive. "Robin, I did not know where to go. I do not know what I am supposed to do. I..."

"Kory." At that, her head looked up, and Nightwing smiled. He touched his finger under her chin. "It's fine. I'll take care of it. We'll figure it out. You'll have to trust me."

"Yes." She nodded and grabbed his hand. "Please, won't you..."

"Nightwing?"

Nightwing turned at the younger male voice, only to see his sometime partner appear from the edge of the shadows, black cape flapping behind him. Starfire dropped his hand and immediately wiped her eyes. After they became less watery, she blinked once again and stared at Nightwing and then the younger superhero in front of them. "Robin?"

"Whoa, is this her?" 'Robin' went up and held out his hand, "Nice to meet you Starfire. I've heard_ a lot _about you."

Nightwing stepped between the two. "Robin, please go back to the Bat Cave and tell Alfred about our new guest."

"Guest?" Robin sounded confused.

"Please. Star..." Nightwing grabbed her hand again. "Come with me. We'll figure this out."

She seemed hesitant, but she grabbed his hand slowly. "You mean to offer that I come back to your place of habitation? I mean, your original home here in Gotham?"

Robin gleamed, "Of course he does! He..."

"Of course, I do," Nightwing interrupted. He then flashed another glare to Robin, "Tim, please."

"Right, right." Robin held a finger to his ear. "Hey Oracle. We've got some company." There was a murmur of more chatting and laughing as the young Robin jumped through the shadows and out of hearing and sight range.

Nightwing didn't turn back from the younger hero. He was still holding Starfire's hand but her lack of movement had him fully stop. "What is it, Star?"

"Nothing." Starfire was seeming to recover. Her breathing became more regular and her tears were now just stains on her cheeks. "It is just this is much like the future I had once seen when we were younger."

That statement confused him until he saw her eyes directed to the blue bird on his chest. "Oh, this?"

"Yes. I did not think it would be this accurate though. You are called Nightwing now, yes?"

There was something hidden behind her words, and he felt that Starfire expected a different response than a simple 'yes'. But he didn't say anything else. The alien nodded and continued to follow him through the night of the city. This was all happening too fast. Starfire was suddenly back in his life with her home planet seemingly destroyed. He had an awful feeling about this whole scenario, about everything that was happening, and his heart literally felt like dying and falling into his stomach. _This won't turn out well. _

Starfire stopped again suddenly. "Please tell me, how are our other friends?"

He swallowed at that, "I wouldn't know."

"Oh." Her depressed tone was back, and her head fell gently to the side. "Perhaps this is more like that future than I have originally thought."

If he was going to be honest, Nightwing hadn't really thought about the other Titans in a while. Beast Boy was totally off the map, being 3000 miles away and in no way connected to the super hero business. He had seen Raven a few times, but they had never done a mission together. Strangely enough, the most contact he had was with Cyborg, although he couldn't really talk much since it was at a Wayne Enterprises event and Nightwing wasn't...well, Nightwing at the time.

They were back in an alley where he had kept his motorcycle, and Starfire looked at the vehicle and smiled. "What?" Nightwing asked.

"I am just glad that not everything has changed since I have been gone." She went on after him, gripping his back harshly as he powered the motor and sped through the Gotham streets. He hoped he wouldn't have any more calls. And it wasn't because he had missed her and that the mere sight of this girl made his heart and brain hurt. Okay, a little of it may be because of that. But mostly it was because of her tears still falling on the uniform, and how he would give anything to see her smile again.

* * *

><p>Gar was an ant.<p>

Currently, his bones-or exoskeleton-felt like cracking, crumbling. But he bit through the pain and squeezed himself under the door to Vic's apartment. He couldn't believe how much of a complete idiot he was. Yes, there were a lot of reasons why he could be considered a fool at the moment, the most obvious being that he was currently now a human walking through his friend's apartment butt naked, yet that wasn't the one that disturbed him the most.

He was grateful he was lucky enough to drag his clothes into a corner and change quickly-like he normally did without his uniform-before confronting Red X in human form. And that Raven hadn't walked in on him in his birthday suit.

_Well at least then you may have come up with something to talk about._

God, he was a fool! Didn't he used to dream about seeing her again? Sure those occurred mostly when he was lonely and right after they kissed, but he thought about it a lot. A whole lot. He thought about seeing her, still in her leotard, her purple eyes widening in surprise. He thought about the intelligent conversation he would have, how at that time he'd most likely be an acting celebrity, and how impressed she would be with everything he was.

Gar walked to an empty wall and placed his forehead against it. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

_Why did I leave? Why didn't I stay?_ He wanted to stay. He missed her a lot, and every part of him wished he was there right now-with clothes. "I should call her. I should call her right..."

Vic's phone was ringing, and before Gar could understand what or why he was doing, he answered it. "Hello?"

"Garfield."

He gulped. _She really is a mind reader. Screw that empath stuff. She actually reads minds. _He found himself stammering again. That really needed to stop. "Ra-Rave?"

"Garfield, I need a proper interview from both you and Victor. Victor already gave me a statement, but as a former hero, you're responsible for one as well."

The green man blinked, "I am?"

"JLA policy." Raven sighed, "It's redundant. But Wally is for some reason a stickler about paperwork."

"_Wally_?" Gar snuffed, "Since when do you call Kid Flash _Wally_?"

"Garfield."

He dropped it at the frustration in her voice, although he didn't like it. Why was he Wally and not Walter or Wallace or whatever the hell it really was? But he didn't want her to realize his annoyance. He hid it under playfulness. "Raven."

"Please be serious."

"Aren't you enough for the both of us?"

"Look, you left your communicator here."

Gar blinked and looked down to his manhood. "Kind of realized I forgot some things."

"Please put on pants before we get back there."

"Excuse me?"

"Yo, Grass Stain."

Gar jumped at the new voice, "Vic?"

"If you even _think_ about sitting on my leather sofa without any clothes on, you're a dead man. Deader than your disgusting tofu crap that's never even been dead. You got it?"

"Umm...not really."

"Clothes. Now." Vic paused. "I'm bringing Raven home."

He tensed immediately. Gar was expecting that. "So interview today?"

"It takes five seconds. And besides, you should want to see her."

He felt guilty at that. How was he supposed to explain that seeing her was all he really wanted to do for the last two years? How was he supposed to tell her that yeah, he wanted to call her every day, that he fully intended on keeping their friendship alive when he _didn't_?

Gar sighed, "I do, Vic."

"Tell her that then. See you in a few. And jeez, I still don't understand how you think of changing and bringing your clothes with you when you fight but not now."

"Yeah." He had no idea what was with him. After he heard the click on the other end, Gar moved to the couch to sit down, but suddenly stopped. _Whoops. _ He didn't feel like dying today. Slipping into the guest bedroom, Gar grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants, purple boxers, and a black crew shirt. He had them all on and sat on the floor, remote in his hands, when the two former Titans came through the door. From his recumbent position, Gar flashed a smile, "Dude, you didn't seriously think I'd sit on that flesh carcass you call a couch, did you?"

Raven smiled and sat beside him, "Seems you haven't changed a bit."

"Nope." His green eyes wavered to hers and he gulped at the sudden tension. "That a good or bad thing?"

"Alright, alright, both of you ignore the $5000 piece of furniture behind you." Vic collapsed on the couch behind them all. "Raven, you'll have to sleep here though since the Green Bean won't touch it." He dropped Gar's old clothes on the side behind him.

Gar straightened his legs out in front of him. "You're staying the night then?"

"If you don't mind," she said evenly. For some reason, her head was down again, and it looked like she wanted to pull her hood up. It was bothering him immensely.

"Of course I don't. You know that."

"Garfield..."

Vic coughed suddenly, "Why don't you two talk in the guest room? That way I don't influence Gar's story or anything."

The two other heroes stared at him. That was sort of a weird thing to say. And Gar was a little hesitant to follow through on his offer. Finally, Raven spoke. "Victor I don't think that the JLA would really think..."

"Plus I want to watch the game." Leaning over, Vic grabbed the remote from Gar's hands and ignored the green man's yells of annoyance as he changed the channel to a basketball game.

Raven stood up. "Fine." And retreated from the room.

Sensing that he needed to follow, Gar got up slowly from the floor. "I really have to be alone with that?" Her tone left nothing to be desired. Raven seemed annoyed at the situation for some reason.

"Like you don't want to be." Vic waved him off "Stop talking. I'm into this."

"But, what you just said..." Gar's mind was racing.

Vic held up a finger, "Shh..." and left the changeling to leave the room.

This wouldn't be so bad. Nope. So last time he was left alone with Raven before today, he made out with her. Okay, no biggie. They were best friends at the time, but they weren't any more so that would make things less awkward, wouldn't it?

Gar let his fang hang out of his mouth as he opened the door and saw her sitting on the bed. Her cloak was off and so were her gloves. The moonlight seemed to hit the window panes, and normally, Gar would feel that this would be the moment when he would lose his nerve. But he decided he had been enough of an idiot today. He had been awkward enough for three lifetimes already that he didn't need to be now. The green changeling sat next to her, hands at his sides, "Rave, how have you been?"

She looked up a bit and scooted away. "Can you recall what animals you changed into exactly?"

"Excuse me?'

"When you fought Red X." Raven muttered. "Were they the animals you normally use?"

"Raven..." He wanted to grab her hand, but her extreme coldness stopped him. "You...you don't even want to talk? I mean, I haven't seen you since..." His face became hot and red. "Since you left."

"I'm here to do my job, Gar." Raven looked at him directly and ran her fingers through her hair. Gar recognized the action immediately. She was nervous, but did he really give her reason to be? "We can catch up another time."

"Alright." Gar yawned, "But you better promise that. You don't go from being best friends with someone to not talking for two years without some regret."

"The animals." Her voice was completely stolid and he felt his shoulders slouch.

"Bear first. Then a cheetah, a falcon, a raptor... umm I think that's it. Before, you know, turning into a human again"

"With your clothes?"

He laughed, "I managed to get them and change, yes."

Raven nodded, a small smile on her lips. _So there is some laughter still there_. Gar felt a little bit better after that. The empath continued, "So are those the animals you usually turn into when you confront Red X?"

He was taken aback a bit by the question, mostly because he had forgotten that for some villains, he had found certain animals that worked most effectively against them. And Raven knew that too. "You tell me."

She caught his challenge and stood again. Gar had to swallow as she walked in front of him. She was breathtaking. That outfit...she shouldn't be allowed to wear something like that. There must have been some sort of law. Wouldn't it distract all the other heroes she fought with? Or maybe the purpose was to distract the criminals too...

"Gorilla, snake, tyrannosaurus rex."

He smiled at her. "Exactly. You remember."

"I remember a lot of things." Her voice faltered and she only stared out the window.

Gar remained on the bed. "You do?"

"Yes." She ignored the implication behind those words and turned around. "I only have a few more questions and then you can go to sleep."

"Let's catch up tomorrow though." Gar needed her to say it. He rested his hand on the wall and leaned. "Alright?"

"If you really want to." Raven sounded doubtful.

"I do."

"Fine then." Raven's hand went to her pocket and Gar watched her take out a small, black phone. _Must be for the JLA. _ There was a rush of possession flowing through him, though that was completely uncalled for. Gar removed his hands from the wall and was not too surprised to see small indents from his nails.

"Hehe." Gar's smile drooped when he saw Raven look at his hand. "Need to get a manicure I guess. You know...nail care."

She turned from the room. "I don't." But before she even left, she was already looking at her phone.

Gar edged over, "Something wrong?"

"No..." Her hand went to the knob but she turned around suddenly. Raven flinched when she realized she was right behind him. "It's Flash. He never checked in."

"So the speedster's a little slow." Gar crossed his arms and tried really, really hard not to roll his eyes. Raven looked serious about this-even more so than normal. "But, I can go check on him if you want."

That certainly caught her off guard. Raven raised an eyebrow and practically smirked, "_You_? You're going to check on Wally?"

"Kid Flash? Yeah, why not."

She held his gaze for a second, testing him, but Gar didn't stutter. Putting her phone away, Raven shook her head. "That's okay. I'm sure he'll be fine. And you said you were tired, right?"

No, he wasn't tired. But Gar nodded his head as Raven left. If he were a dog, Gar would have had his tail in between his legs. And just thinking about turning into a dog made his bones creak in anxiety. He felt defeated watching her leave, at the thought of him losing his abilities.

_I'm not. I can't be. _

God, he had never thought of that before. Gar fell onto the bed and held up his arm, pinching his green skin in between his thumb and index fingers. _Nope, still green._ His pointed ears stiffened as he heard murmurs from the door. Gar rolled off the bed, quite literally, and held his head against the wooden frame.

"Victor..."

"You're never gonna tell me, are you?"

A long silence. Gar had the forethought of turning into a fly and squeezing through the doorframe, but Raven was already talking again, "It...it didn't mean anything. And besides I have someone else now. It's fine."

"I just want to see my friends happy."

"I am."

There was a little more muttering and shuffling, but nothing else was audible from Gar's location. The changeling turned around and leaned against the door, sitting on his butt. "What the heck was that abou-Ow!"

The door hit harshly against his body, and Gar backward somersaulted as the door opened. He blinked, upside down. "Uh...hi?"

Raven raised an eyebrow "Alright then."

"'Tsup Rave?"

She snickered to herself, "Not your head."

"Laughter! A+ for me then." Gar rolled forward and landed legs crossed. "What's the count up to now?"

"I can't believe you're still doing that..."

"39?" Gar cracked a smile. "Or was that 40?"

Raven sighed and sat on the bed, a book in hand. "You're unbearable."

He slid next to her, smile unstoppable. "You love me anyway."

There was no expected witty response, and Gar found himself floundering to look at her. Raven bit down on her lip and she switched on a nearby table lamp. "Mind if I read here?"

"Yes...I mean, no. No. Of course I don't."

"Victor's watching basketball. It's distracting." Her purple eyes glanced up from the open book.

Gar fidgeted, "What?"

"You don't want to watch it too?"

"No." He wondered if she knew, as he lay next to her on the small, double guest bed, what he was feeling. It was her super power after all, and even though Gar thought he'd feel vulnerable, he didn't. He wanted Raven to know that, even though it was sort of terrifying that...he was worried about his powers. "Hey, Rave?"

She didn't seem so annoyed at the interruption, but she didn't turn to look at him either. "What?"

_Nothing. Go back to reading. _

_Are things okay between us?_

_Do you remember our kiss?_

_Do you think I'm still a hero?  
><em>

"Do you miss the Titans?" Gar finally settled on.

Methodically, she turned the page, and it seemed as if she wouldn't answer. He felt silly for asking that question, especially when there were seemingly more important things that he should have been concerned with. Raven crossed her legs, "Every day." Purple eyes were suddenly visible, "You?"

"Same."

She went back to reading after that, and Gar continued to lie on his bed, eyes tracing the small cracks in Victor's ceilings. Despite all the mess in his head, he felt calm next to her. He started to feel easy next to this girl that he had so much history with because she was just ...just...

"Not again." He couldn't help but groan.

Raven instantly turned to him. "Gar, is everything okay?"

_No. _How was he supposed to explain to _her _that he had a crush on her for how long? 7? 8 years? _Crap, crap, crap. _

Her book was down, her hand on his head. Her purple eyes were wide with concern, and he knew she was reading him. Her purple eyes had this blue tint to them and her mouth curved slightly downward, as if she were focusing too hard. Gar pushed her off. "Stop it."

"I'm...I'm sorry."

"Jeez, Raven. You can't just invade people's minds like that, okay? Not when they're your friends."

His tone was too harsh and she immediately retreated away from him like a scolded child. Gar felt awful, but he didn't move to comfort her. Raven stiffened, "Are we though?"

"What?"

"Still friends."

He couldn't hide the distress on his face even behind his old Doom Patrol mask. Gar grabbed her hand, no longer caring. "Raven, you don't actually mean that."

Though of course he would never get an answer to that question. For even if Raven's walls didn't start to fortify or even if she was going to say the exact opposite or that they were _more_ than friends, Gar would never know. A familiar, though unusual noise was sounding off throughout the apartment, and all three people recognized instantly as the Titan's ring.

* * *

><p>AN:

All done with this chapter. And partially with the next. I would absolutely, positively love to know what you're thinking, so please review and let me know! Until next time!


	7. Just Teammates

A/N:

I wish there were some sort of scheduled planning to my updates, but it's really just the amount of time I have available paired with my sometimes flowing, sometimes stalled creative juices. Anyway, thank you again to all of you following this story, and I appreciate all of my reviewers and their wonderful feedback. Special, special thanks to:

_Monstrous Wonder_: That's very kind of you! I love experimenting with grown up Titans and I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job!

_The Cretin: _Ah! I really, really, really, really appreciate that you take the time to review every chapter! Especially since you are working on top of that! That must be tough! I am lucky enough to be in between summer and internship time, so I have plenty of free time...but I applaud you for giving each chapter such a nice review on such a busy schedule. Thank you!

_cole763_: I'm so happy you like my style of writing! I'm even happier that I have seemed to develop a style at all! Thank you!

_Hebi R_: Glad I could convert you to this wonderful fandom! It's worth it, I swear!

_Katwizzle_: I have updated! Hopefully the next update will be decently as fast as well. I'm in a good place with this story, but I hope you don't mind the end of this chapter either...

_LobsterMobster95_: Your review really made me smile! I'm glad you like the little parts from the comics I have added, and I can promise Jinx will eventually make an appearance. When that happens exactly, I'm not so sure, so you'll just have to keep reading :)

Thanks all of you! And please keep reviewing! It's wonderful to hear from you.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, the Justice League, or anything associated with DC comics.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 5: Just Teammates<em>

Raven recognized it instantly and took the opportunity to leave the guest bedroom. She went back into the living room where Vic was holding up Gar's black tuxedo pants. As awful as it was to think, she was extremely grateful for the interruption since her mind was currently berating herself for ever backing into that corner.

_Do you mean to incite him?_

She didn't know. Perhaps she was curious or angry or..._something_. A trip to Nevermore was definitely needed, but the Titans communicator left no time open for that one. Vic gave her a stern glare and then tossed Gar's communicator into her hands. "I'm getting mine. It's in my room. Yours?"

"The Watchtower." Raven ignored her slight guilt for not dragging the communicator along. Not carrying it would have been considered a sin two years ago, but she hadn't touched it since she made it to space. "Garfield should be..."

"Right here." Gar pulled up the elastic band from his sweatpants and held out his hand. "Raven?"

She handed him the yellow device and sat on the couch, cross legged. Raven watched as he flipped it open and his green eyes narrowed together in focus. Gar's mouth dropped, "Star..."

"BEAST BOY!"

The familiar voice drove Raven up from her seat and made her lean over Gar's shoulder. _Is it really her? _ Her eyes didn't lie. There, on the small communicator screen, sat a gleaming face. Starfire was practically shaking with happiness, and Raven felt the full force of her emotion practically hit her in the head.

"AND RAVEN!" A pause. More blinks. "Why are you two in the same location? And in such a cosmopolitan space as well. Please friends, tell me. Have I interrupted something of great importance that old Robin has said would never happen but I have insisted would occur?"

"Um, no." Raven was glad the words came out in such a rush. It made it easier to ignore them. "I had JLA business with Star Labs and met up with Victor. Garfield was visiting him."

"Hey, Star." Vic came back into the room, his own communicator opening. Starfire blinked, and Raven saw Gar's own screen split to reveal the other two Titans on the line. "It's great to talk to you. Don't tell me you're back on Earth?"

She nodded, "Why yes. I am."

"Really? That's great!" Gar said immediately, excitement overwhelming Raven when combined with Starfire's own feelings. Raven shut of her empathy immediately, chagrined. He had not felt that way when he had seen her again. _And what do you care about that?_

Victor sat on the couch, a little more skeptical though happy as well. "Where are you?"

"In Gotham."

That wouldn't have surprised anyone if they hadn't heard what happened the night before Raven had left, if all of the details of her and the Boy Wonder's relationship hadn't been brought out to public. They once thought that Starfire and Robin had broken up out of necessity. They were both homesick and both needed to go to places very, very far away. Distance was a bitch, and both of them had too many responsibilities to worry about little things like love.

Well, at least that's what they thought before.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that when they wouldn't even go into the same room together the next day that something deeper was wrong. And even Mammoth could figure out that the way Starfire slurred the name _Robin _that this was fundamentally a trust issue.

Raven had never been happier to leave the Tower than the moment when Starfire had asked what kind of shellac Robin used to keep his mask on. And seeing the silence of her former teammates, she realized they were all thinking the same thing. The empath broke the mood. "Oh."

"Yes, well...I knew I could find one of you there."

"You could have called us before, Star." Gar sounded restrained. Raven sensed a growl hidden in his throat. "You didn't have to go see..."

"I wanted to, Beast Boy." Starfire interrupted. "Nightwing has not been anything but kind, but I must insist that you all come here."

"Is something wrong?" Raven asked. The mood in the Tamaranean dipped significantly, answering her question. "What happened, Starfire? Why are you here?"

The orange haired girl sighed, "It is something I wish to discuss with all of you together. I doubt I could repeat it many more times." Suddenly, Starfire's head whipped to the side and she fell into the whisper. "I believe Raven knows the location to Batman's Cavern of the dark and gloomy, yes?"

Raven didn't say anything. She had known its location years before she met the man.

Starfire nodded, "Then please, come. Nightwing does not know I have asked this of you. But..." she paused and glanced down. "It would mean so much for me to have my friends with me right now. You...you do not understand what has happened and I..." Her grip on the edge of the black table strengthened. "I am not prepared to face this alone. I have to go though. The smaller Robin will be returning. Goodbye."

Half the screen went to black, and soon Victor's side also turned off. The half-robotic man soon looked to his friends in real time, "Well, hope you don't have a series of missions, Raven."

"Actually, I do. I need to get this report in to the JLA and..."

"Can't you just give that to Kid Flash?" Gar was pissed. His green eyes gripped at her. "Starfire asked us to come. She's our friend. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"It does. Of course it does." Raven could feel how much the Tamaranean was hurting. Something awful had happened to her, but could Raven just ignore her responsibilities, drop everything just to calm her? _Yes, I can. I should._ She knew that if there were ever a time, Starfire would do the same for her. "Fine. I'll call Wally. He still hasn't checked in and then I can teleport us all to the Bat Cave."

"Cool." Vic patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks, Raven."

"Garfield's right." Her purple eyes trailed to the shape shifter for a brief second. "She's my friend. And something terrible has happened to her."

Gar sighed, "That bad?"

"Probably worse than what you're thinking. Her emotions are even more diluted through the communicator. And with her excitement with seeing us again..." Raven closed her eyes. _What's going on? _ This was too much of a coincidence. "Let me call Wally now. We should get there as quickly as possible."

Her phone was connected to her hip, and she flipped the black mobile open before dialing Wally's private line. She waited patiently and eventually moved into the guest room and shut the door. "Flash..."

Raven sat on the bed, worry lining her face. She had been partners with the Flash for almost a year now, and he was _never_ slow to respond. Her heart was panicking from the dragged out dial tone, and Raven's fingers immediately went to her ear piece. "Superman?"

"Wrong guy."

She cursed to herself. Though she would have normally preferred speaking to the Dark Knight, especially when it came to locating JLA members via technological equipment, considering where she was heading to in about ten minutes, Batman probably wasn't the best option.

Raven didn't let it bother her. "Hello, Batman."

"Don't tell me Wally is hitting on you again. I don't really feel like conducting another sexual harassment seminar here."

Raven stifled a chuckle. She could picture the Dark Knight groaning underneath his cowl. "No, nothing like that. He hasn't checked in with me in a while."

"Why are you two separated?"

"Batman..."

"I'm tracking your location."

Her eye twitched. No wonder Robin had quit Gotham to go to California. The only reason he could probably deal with it now was because half the time Batman was up in space anyway. "Fine."

"765 Freeview Avenue. That's..."

"Victor Stone's apartment, yes. I met up with an old friend."

"An abandoned your partner in the process."

"Victor Stone, aka Cyborg, was a former Titan."Raven didn't feel like she needed to explain this. "It is JLA protocol to explicitly interview all former superheroes when they witness a crime."

Batman paused, "And why didn't you interview him on scene?"

"Garfield Logan." Raven coughed, "aka Beast Boy was also present. He had already returned to Stone's apartment before I had a chance to interview him. I tracked him back to this location."

"How diligent of you," Batman sniffed.

"Wally claimed he could handle tracking Red X. I should have known better."

There was another long pause. Batman's fingers clicked on the keyboard on the other end. "I can't track him."

Raven groaned, "Figures."

"His tracker is currently malfunctioning. Last update was received at 97 Applegate Avenue. I'll send the coordinates to your phone."

"I'll teleport there. No problem. Thank you."

"Raven."

She half wanted to cut off the Bat right now. "What?"

"Bring someone with you. If Beast Boy and Cyborg couldn't stop Red X, and the Flash didn't have time to call you in for help, there could be something really wrong going on there."

"Have any backup available?"

"No." Batman sounded dissatisfied and...Was that hesitant? "There was an issue out in space. Much of the league is out doing damage control."

Raven wanted to push him, though she knew she probably wouldn't get any sort of answer. It was worth a try though. "Anything I should know about?"

"Not yet."

"You really need to stop saying that." She had yet to forget his avoidance of another topic before. But that was Batman- a series of mind games until he decided you should know something. Raven never did like to play those sorts of things. She just wanted it straight.

"I sent the coordinates. Bring Beast Boy and Cyborg with you. I always thought Nightwing did an okay job with your team."

Okay? That was as much as a compliment as Raven would ever hear from him. "Right, Raven out."

Gar immediately went up to her as she came out of the door. She hadn't bothered to lower her voice; she had thought the walls were thick enough, but then she looked to his slightly pointed ears and remembered that he wasn't completely human. His words suggested that he hadn't heard though. "Is he alright?"

"He isn't responding." Raven's tone was even though her friends stiffened at the comment. They were heroes once too, and they understood the implications of a comrade being unresponsive. He could have been injured, possibly dead. Raven didn't let her thoughts slip to that however. "I talked to Batman and he tracked Flash's last location for me. He suggested you two accompany me."

"Yeah, agreed." Gar nodded and slipped the yellow communicator into his sweatpants' pocket. Where to?"

"Hold up a sec, what about Star?"

Raven shook her head at Vic's question. "Starfire isn't in any immediate danger. Wally could be."

"Yeah, but she's left alone with _Nightwing_." Gar half laughed. "That may be WWIII right there."

Raven doubted that much, but she understood their point. Starfire did want them their immediately, and she did sound extremely shaken. But she wasn't dead. "I have a duty to my partner."

"Fine." Gar said, surprising both Raven and Cyborg. "We'll go get him then."

Raven didn't miss a beat, "_We_?"

"Vic can go meet up with Star in Gotham. I'll help save Wally and you can teleport us there later."

Victor seemed hesitant about the idea too. "You sure you're up to it?"

"If you mean that tired thing, I'll just grab an espresso on the way. No worries, Dude."

"That's not what I mean."

She watched Gar straighten at the comment, but he didn't say anymore to him. Instead, the changeling looked to Raven, and Raven felt her own body tighten under his gaze. "Look, Rave. I agree with Batman. You need backup, and if the JLA can't give you it, I certainly can. Sort of have experience in the whole superhero field if you guys remember. Vic can go to Star. He still has the T-Car somewhere. And when we're all done with Flash you can teleport us to Gotham. Easy as beating Mega Monkeys Four on Noob Mode."

Though she didn't necessarily understand the analogy, Raven agreed with Gar. Rex X shouldn't have been that big of a problem, but Wally's lack of communication was worrying her. Plus, she had worked with Gar alone, and they both knew how each other operated. And they wouldn't be alone for more than a couple of hours. Even though Raven felt an impending awkwardness with being alone with Garfield Logan, her rationality overpowered her. "Fine. Let's get going then."

"One tiny problem with that."

Gar looked to Victor, who was uncomfortably staring at the changeling's lower half. "Um, what?"

"You don't have a uniform."

Raven paled. _That could be a problem._ The green man laughed and then crossed his arms, suddenly defensive. "Dude, it's not a _tiny_ problem at all."

The empath groaned and looked at the coordinates on her phone again. _What am I getting into?_ An idea popped in her brain and Raven touched her finger to her ear again. "Hello again, Batman."

She ignored her former teammates' confusion and continued talking. "Garfield doesn't have a uniform...Yes I know. That's why I'm calling." Raven rolled her eyes. "Thanks. Raven out." She turned to Gar, "I've got your old one coming."

He blinked, "You do?"

"JLA has them in its Earth base. In the museum section."

Victor laughed, "Oh right. Forgot about that. I remember when we first visited that thing...a whole Titan's wing..."

"It should be here in 5,4,3,2..."

Raven stopped talking, slightly off by a second as a purple and black uniform and shoes materialized on the floor. Victor was practically squealing with giddiness. "A teleportation machine! The JLA just has all the toys, doesn't it? The one at Star takes at least a couple of hours just to power up!"

Gar moved to grab his uniform off the floor, checking for any holes. When he was satisfied, he simply shrugged, "Sort of less impressive when you know a girl who can teleport on demand. Be back." He moved from the room, uniform in hand, and closed the door to the guest bedroom.

She practically fell over when Vic nudged her with his elbow. "Please, stop."

"Someone jumped at the chance to help you out."

This again? Raven never went to high school, but if she did, she imagined it would have been very similar to this. Vic was surprisingly recalcitrant that something had happened when her and Gar had left the lounge by themselves two years ago, but seriously, that was _two years ago_. Not only was Raven surprised he remembered the event so well, she was also shocked that he was so intuitive. "Like I said..."

"You have someone else. It wouldn't be Flash would it?"

Her cheeks reddened. These were the moments she still wished she was connected to her father. Okay, maybe not that, but still. She wished she was a little better at hiding her emotions. "This isn't important. I'm sending the Bat Cave's coordinates to your Titan's communicator. You can sync it up to the T-Car. I'm not sure you'll be allowed in however."

"I'll knock then. Nightwing will have to let me in." Vic was taking off his suit jacket, coat, and pants. Raven practically smiled when she saw him like that again. It was truly Cyborg. "I'll head out now. Bye, Raven. Bye, Grass Stain!"

"Yeah, bye!" Gar shouted from behind the door, and Vic soon left the apartment after setting a pair of keys on the table and telling Raven to lock up when she goes out. Raven nodded and placed her cloak back on, keeping the hood down. She waited patiently outside of the guest room, but after another couple of minutes, she had enough.

"Garfield." She banged on the door. "Need help with your makeup?"

There was more rustling and then something like a crash on the floor. Finally, Gar's voice droned from the other end. "Boy, did I miss your sarcastic wit."

She didn't know why her face blushed at that, but it did. "Do you need help?" She asked more seriously.

"Think...I got it! Damn, was this always so tight?"

Raven didn't remember. The team hadn't worn their uniforms around the Tower months and months before they disbanded, and her memory of Gar's uniform was only of when he was still a stick. The tight fabric was practically loose on his scrawny body then. Raven responded truthfully, "No."

The door opened and her eyes grew at Gar's body in the doorway. He scratched his dark green hair and looked at her sheepishly. "Well?"

No. It was definitely not that tight before.

Memories came back to her in flurries, specifically of some of their last training sessions and battles in uniform. Beast Boy was certainly not a boy. For a while he had even changed his name, and the uniform certainly reminded Raven as to why. His broad shoulders stretched the black and purple fabric wide, such that it looked like the material was painted onto his taut frame. She could practically see the outlines of his abs, the cords of his biceps and thighs. His body filled the uniform out easily, and Raven practically traced every contour, every muscle with her eyes before swallowing tightly.

_Get a hold of yourself._

This should have been nothing to her. Hot men in skin tight uniforms were something she dealt with on a daily basis in massive quantity. She didn't know why her body was suddenly reacting like it was to it now, and she admitted to being slightly impressed that Gar hadn't lost any muscles mass for the two years he was retired. _If anything, he seemed to have gotten..._

She swallowed again and placed the hood over her head. "Ready?"

"Er, yeah." He seemed self conscious, though Raven didn't find any reason why he should be. Girlishly, she let him walk ahead of her, purple eyes southbound.

_Lust, please stop._

A small part of her mind grumbled a 'no', but Raven chose to ignore that.

She exhaled and followed the green man out, locking the door behind them before teleporting the keys back into the T-Car and grabbing Gar's shoulder. "I have no idea what to expect here. Are you sure you want to come?"

He shrugged her off and grabbed her hand-gloved skin touching gloved skin. Raven shivered despite her cloak and Gar gripped her hand even tighter. "I think you know better than to ask me that."

She figured as much and let him maintain his grip. It seemed in that instant that no time had passed between them. It was two years ago. They were by the ocean. They were under the moon. She was happy. She had never been so happy before and Beast Boy had...

Raven grabbed his other hand and steadied her breath. She pushed down on whatever feelings were bubbling in her brain as reality occurred to her. This wasn't two years ago and her and Garfield Logan hadn't talked in years. They were barely friends; the only thing connecting them now was past familiarity and perhaps physical attraction. His breath hit her skin and she shivered once again.

Okay, so definite physical attraction. But that was it.

"I hope you remember what this is like."

"A shadowy, giant black raven. Think I got it." He smiled. "Let's go."

"Right. Yes." It took another ten seconds for her to calm down enough to have enough control to recreate her soul self. Once again, she felt her soul breach her body, consuming both physical beings of her and Gar. The changeling shifted, becoming flush against her physical form, and Raven knew he was a little scared. So she moved fast. The black raven soared, perfectly camouflaged within the night sky and landed on the edge of Applegate Avenue. In a few seconds, the black bird dissipated back into the air, and Raven steadied her hood on her head.

Gar panted next to her. "Okay...so maybe I remember it being a little, uh, steadier."

"Don't tell me you're nauseous."

"I'm not! Everything's cool." Gar inhaled deeply and cracked his knuckles. The area around them was nice. Very residential, with brownstones and tall green trees inlaid in the sidewalk. The changeling smiled. "This almost makes city living seem possible."

Raven turned down the street and started walking towards the Flash's last location. "Don't you live in L.A?"

"Yeah, and I wonder how. There's no place to...to..."

"Run wild?" Raven offered, for once not sarcastic with her pun.

Gar nodded and jogged a bit to catch up with her. "Yeah, exactly. It was different in Jump. We were constantly stopping criminals that I guess all that energy was just sort of worked out of me. But in L.A., I feel caged. It's bad. Maybe that's why..." He trailed off then, green eyes digging into the pavement below them.

"Why what?" Raven didn't turn on her empathy, not after Gar had told her off before. She watched as the numbers on the buildings steadily increased. _85, 87, 89_...

The streets were pretty empty, which was strange for a major city on a weekend night. Raven kept closer to the buildings anyway to avoid the few people on the other side of the streets. Gar fumbled forward and smoothed out his belt, Titan communicator attached. "Why I needed a break. Vic called and I jumped at the chance to visit him."

"It's nice." Raven shifted through the shadows. _93, 95... _"That you two kept in touch."

"Raven, I'm..."

She held up a hand as they approached number 97. Her eyes scanned the seemingly innocent looking brownstone, looking for any intimation that some sort of super powered struggle occurred here, but there wasn't any. Alternatively, she turned on her empathetic abilities. She wasn't looking for Red X anymore, and Wally would have been much, much harder to find-probably impossible because she didn't exactly know what emotion to look for.

And she felt nothing else around them, besides Gar's practically glowing-

"Rave?"

Raven turned and removed her hood to see Gar's green finger pointing up. Gar continued, "Just a hunch."

"Let's go." She started levitating up and Gar changed into a falcon, delicately catching the wind and lifting up to the roof.

The brownstone's roof was actually more of a garden, coated with green grass as a surface and with vines, trellises, and pots lining every edge. Raven felt her heart warm as Gar smiled, his purple sneakers hitting the turf. "Cool." He whispered before looking at some of the foliage. "Weird. You don't really realize how much you miss a place until way, way later."

"You ever think about going back to Africa?" Raven watched him freeze, ignore her question, and then transform into a bloodhound. She followed the now dog-form Gar around the roof noticing the ripped up grass, the mushy red X's on the ground. _So they did fight here_. Gar barked and Raven jogged up to see what the small, green dog was looking at.

"What?" She bent down and small Wally's earpiece, including his tracker, smashed on the ground. "Just great."

Another bark.

Raven turned to see Gar run across the roof, more towards the center and to what looked like a fairly large, glass greenhouse. The dog scratched on the closed door and Raven sighed. "Don't be lazy, Garfield."

The dog just continued to scratch and gave a slight whimper. Raven groaned and opened it up. _Why don't you just change back?_

The room was incredibly humid and filled with smashed flower pots and ripped up vines and turf. Gar sprinted forward, paws trampling through the dirt, until he stopped in front of a long, log-like structure completely composed of vines. Raven figured it out immediately, "Wally!"

She ran, bent down, and started to remove the vines around the Flash's body, but they were incredibly thick. It was difficult to rip, but Gar had morphed again, this time to a crab, and started to cut through the plant easily. When they began to see red underneath, Gar changed back. "Jeez, Red X did a number on him."

"He got away too." Raven continued to remove the vines from the Flash's face. He was unconscious, but luckily still breathing. If she had waited too long, he could have suffocated. "...but this..."

"It doesn't seem like him." Gar said, noticing how tightly the vines had been wrapped. "Red X doesn't work like this. He would never spend the time putting a hero in a trap this premeditated, especially when they could die."

"Yes." Raven's nerves were becoming unsteady. She cradled Wally's head in her lap, sliding her gloved fingers across his cheek. _What happened to you? Who did this? _

She felt Gar's eyes on her, but Raven ignored it and started to funnel healing energy to her hand. Slowly, Flash started to move his head, and he struggled a bit under the vines weakened, but still strong, vice. "What...what happened?"

"Hoping you could fill us in on that one," Gar muttered and continued ripping.

Flash attempted to sit up but fell back down, right into Raven's lap. "Raven? Is that you? You should warn me next time we're in a position like this. I'm not completely prepared..."

"Wally." Raven suddenly felt embarrassed and softly removed his head from on top of her. "What happened to Red X?"

"He got away."

"No shit, Sherlock," Gar ripped the last of the binds but didn't offer Flash any hand with rising. "Care to share a little more?"

"Beast Boy?" Finally, the Flash stood up, an amused, albeit slightly confused, look on his face. "Oh, I didn't know you joined the JLA. When did you manage to fit in that audition? In between the remake of Lassie or Black Beauty?"

"Wally..." Raven started.

Gar's alpha tendencies were purring. "Probably during the time you got your ass handed to you by some second rate villain."

Raven cursed herself, "Gar please..."

"The same villain that managed to get away from you earlier, right? But nice try. You've always been a little _slow_ after a.-"

"STOP!" Her emotions burst, red eyes on her face even though she had separated from her father years and years ago. Dark energy flurried around her body, and both Gar and Wally stopped their verbal-macho-war instantly when her tone dropped five octaves. Raven inhaled, exhaled, and allowed the dark energy to vanish. Her eyes returned to their normal purple color, but her tone was ice, "Would you two stop acting like idiots for three minutes so I can find out what happened here?"

There was more blinking, worried looks, and finally Gar backed away to let Flash speak.

"Right, course, Raven." Flash sped ahead to stand next to the empath and crossed his arms. "Things were going fantastic. I followed that chump Red X over to Applegate, sped through the apartment, got on the roof, and walked in on a lovely scene of Red X exchanging that...raisin thing to some guy in black."

"It's called the Regenerative Egg." Gar grumbled. "Raisin thing. How stupid does that..."

Raven interrupted the changeling. There was no need to let them berate each other anymore. "Describe the guy in black."

Flash thought for a moment, "Can't really. He stood away from the light, had some hooded henchman come and get the thing, and then puff-of-smoke-vanished."

"And you just so happened to wrap yourself up in vines?" Gar asked.

"No." Flash was obviously perturbed as well. _This is just going swimmingly. _Raven turned to the speedster and widened her eyes to try and assuage the tension. It seemed to work. "I may or may not have tried to stop them. The henchman just sort of threw me up into the air and then I...was unconscious. I don't know about the vine thing."

"They wanted to kill you." Raven decided. "They wanted to leave a message for us. They knew you were following them."

"Probably," Flash agreed. "Though that doesn't exactly make me feel any better. I guess we just go out there and track them now." He held out a hand to Gar, "Thanks for helping Raven here, but her partner's all ready now so, you can go back to Cali and..."

"Wally, go back to the Watchtower." Raven said, making the Flash turn back to her.

"What, why?"

"Dude, we have another mission." Gar crossed his arms. "She was _my_ partner long before yours after all."

Flash scratched his head, "Wait, wait. Didn't you retire? And wasn't that more like a team thing than an actual partner thing?"

"Same with the JLA, Wally." Raven grabbed Flash's hand, ignoring her biting emotions. "You have to tell Batman. This...I have a feeling this is going to be a lot worse than any of us think at the moment."

"So it's a perfect time to run along and relive Titan days?"

Raven glared, "Weren't you the one saying the same thing at dinner?" She didn't have time to deal with this. Turning off every emotion blaring at her, Raven walked back to Gar but still directed her speech to the Flash. "I'll contact the Watchtower to teleport you back. I'm sorry, but I have something really important to handle right now."

"Raven, how do you know this isn't more important?"

She didn't, and on a world danger scale, Flash was probably right. But both situations made her instinct feel sick. Both were dangerous, and she had already promised Starfire she would be there for her.

Raven was surprised to feel another tug at her hand, and she turned to see Gar pleading with her to move. "Rave, please. Vic's waiting."

Her finger went to her earpiece, and she told J'onn to teleport Flash back to the Watchtower. She felt his protest, his confusion and slight anger that she was leaving with Beast Boy and not him, but behind that all, she knew he was worried. What ever happened here had scared him. The deal Red X made on this rooftop did not stop after the two traders had left and abandoned the Flash for dead.

And then there was Starfire with her defeated tone and broken eyes. The stability of the world seemed to be crumbling under their feet, and Raven didn't know what was going on. _You'll handle it. You and the JLA will figure this out like always. Things will be fine_.

But she needed more reassurance. Under the stars, she waited for Gar to grab her other hand before whispering the three words that would lead to the Titan reunion.

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><p>AN:

Thanks everyone for reading! Please leave a review and let me know how I'm doing! I'll get started on the next chapter straight away!


	8. Family Reunion

A/N:

This wanted to be even longer but I had to stop myself somewhere. I'd like to apologize for the lack of action in the chapters thus far, but I promise loads in the next one!

Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers once again. You guys are beyond awesome:

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: _Ha, their problems aren't horrible..yet. But I'm cruel and want to make them suffer in both more human and inhuman ways (this makes sense in my head, I swear). And yeah, you're absolutely right about Raven's hard time with the JLA in the comics and my decision to somewhat ignore that. I figure cartoon Raven was much less...um, evil than her comic counterpart. No wedding crashing or anything. So I'm letting the JLA be a little more lenient with her.

_Katwizzle: _Thanks again!Hope these updates are fast enough and I'll get started on the next straight away!

_Zeta Marz: _I shall try :D and thanks!

_The Cretin_: Thanks! Still have somewhat of a break before work, and I plan to milk it. Ha. I also appreciate that you like my building...it's taking longer than I expected! And jeez, The Ravagers...I don't know what to think about it. I can't decide exactly how angry I am/if I am angry at all. I will forever think of BB as the green, joking charmer and not...whatever they did. But that's just my preference. I wonder what they'll do with Raven and him.

_LobsterMobster95: _Hehehe, same. I have fun with love triangles. I'm such an 8 year old girl inside. And thanks so much for all the compliments! I hope the reunion is just as you hoped.

_Cafechan: _Phew, glad it's not predictable! Thanks for the super nice review :) And I hope to keep hearing from you!

And now to the story:

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own DC comics.

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><p><em>Chapter 6: Family Reunion<em>

To say Nightwing was pissed would have been a horrendous understatement. Gar stiffened as the masked hero continued to yell at Raven for revealing too much, when to be honest, she had revealed _nothing_ at all. Even Vic, who drove all the way here, had no idea where in Gotham city he was, just that he was somewhere within the city limits. Gar himself had just entered a black hole and exited through another one, only to end up in the famous Bat Cave.

It was weird seeing Robin not...Robin anymore. And it was even harder not to call him that, for the slip up led to some young teenager hopping into the room-the new Robin recruit Batman had after the second Robin unfortunately died.

Gar growled. _This would just be easier if you said your damn name._

They knew everyone else's. They knew everything about everyone else. Raven was a half demon, whose mother was raped after being taken in by some extreme cult that worshiped her dad. Starfire was some alien princess from a planet Gar had no intention of ever returning to. Cyborg was half human, half robot who, after an experiment gone wrong, needed cybernetic tissue and prosthetics in order to survive. And Gar...well, they all knew about his past. Generally.

Hell, at least they all knew his first name. And there was no way Robin's-er, Nightwing's was more embarrassing than Garfield.

Raven had led him through the caverns, and Gar had half the mind to change into a bat now just to make the trip easier. The floor and ceilings were dotted with stalagmites and stalactites. The air was coated in darkness, and if it weren't for his slightly enhanced eyesight, he doubted that he would be able to see at all. Raven herself had stumbled, and he grabbed her hand, whispering something about how demons should be better used to walking underground than he was. She had giggled at that too. Okay, maybe not giggled. Raven doesn't exactly giggle, but she had this tiny sort of laugh, this muted held back chuckle that made Gar practically want to skip.

_Counts up to 41. _

They had eventually found the entrance to the actual 'Bat Cave' part of the cavern. Raven had them wait until Cyborg arrived 30 minutes later in the T-Car. Even at its fastest speed, it was still no match to instant teleportation, and Gar had basically twiddled his thumbs the whole time, waiting for his robotic friend to arrive.

But he would give anything to have that moment back compared to what he was going through now. Nightwing was still yelling at Raven, who just stood there calmly as usual. She had lifted her hood back up before, but he could still see her eyes, glaring through the shadowed cloak. She was _pissed_. Which was not something you could always tell with Raven, but Gar could. Everything with her was body language and instinct-slight visual cues. It probably helped that he was closely connected to his animal side, but Gar could easily sense Raven's slight shifts in moods.

And Gar knew that currently she was more than her usual brand of pissed. She was frustrated, irritable, in such an extreme you-better-leave-me-alone mood that Gar could only count the number of times she had been like that on one hand. And usually those feelings were directed at him, not Nightwing.

The changeling took a step back from the two superheroes in black and blue. "May want to move out of the way..." He grabbed Starfire's wrist and dragged her towards the computer console. The young Robin had been sitting at the computer screen, clicking away at the keyboards. Cyborg was over the kid's shoulder.

"Still! You should know better. You should know how risky this is! What if someone followed you?"

Raven blinked, "I'm sorry. You think someone followed me through an interdimensional portal?"

Nightwing didn't look satisfied or scared, but there was so much venom in Raven's seemingly steady tone. The man stepped forward, pulling at his dark hair. "You know what I mean, Raven! You know how sensitive my identity is. How-"

"Nightwing, I could have told them all who you were years ago. I should have. Don't test me right now. Rage is still in here somewhere."

Starfire squirmed next to Gar. "Please Beast Boy. They are going to fight."

"They're smarter than that. I know they're both stubborn but they're also really good friends and they won't..." Gar bit his lip as he saw dark energy start to exude from Raven's body. She was furious, and even though Trigon was out of the picture, she was still very powerful. And her super powers were still linked to her emotions somewhat. _Crap._

Gar let go of Starfire's wrist and approached the two other heroes. Nightwing shot him a dangerous look, but Gar didn't pay him any attention. "Rave." He placed his hands on her shoulders, but she shrugged them off. Gar sighed and replaced them. "Stop it. You're better than this. Calm down."

She sniffed, "I am calm. I know what I'm doing."

"No. You don't." He touched the velvet feel of her hood and removed it from her head to see her eyes. "Look at me. Please." She did and Gar exhaled in relief. "Something's got your emotions a little rattled, but this is Robin. Don't take it out on Robin."

"Gar," Nightwing said behind them. "This isn't about you."

"And it's not about you either." Gar didn't turn. "What's up with you? You're not usually this unsteady."

"I'm not...unsteady." The energy surrounding Raven faded, and the air immediately became less tense.

Gar didn't drop his grip. "Yeah, alright. I haven't seen you this pissed since I've interrupted you and Malchior."

"Garfield..."

"What? Just saying. Don't worry. It's not a moment I want to relive either. So how about we both calm down and figure out what was important enough for Star to want us here." He looked back to Nightwing at this and saw he had struck a chord with the mention of Starfire. The anger in him seemed to go away, replaced with a look of concern and guilt.

And Gar was not going to let him get away with it. He let go of the now pacified Raven and gritted his teeth. "And what the hell were you thinking, _Rob_? We separate, go away for God knows how long, the love of your life invites us back because she was practically _bawling_ over the communicator, and you're acting...you're acting..." He growled. "Like such a _dick_!"

The young Robin immediately stopped typing at that and Raven stiffened behind the changeling. He felt all eyes on him, but Gar didn't care. He got really, really sick of Nightwing sometimes. The hero didn't know how lucky he was to have had someone like Starfire in his life, someone who actually loved him as much as he loved her. And to throw it all away to live in some dark, dank cave? Totally beyond Gar's comprehension-not that he claimed to have much anyway.

Raven surprisingly stepped up again, looking even more apologetic than before. "I didn't tell him anything."

"I know." Nightwing sighed and flattened out his semi-spiked hair. It was still short, but much less gelled up than it had been back in their Titan days. "Look, Gar, I'm sorry."

Gar sniffed, "Don't apologize to me."

"Raven then." He held out a hand to the empath and the two shook. "Look at me, reverting back already just seeing all of you. I swear, I was more mature than this just yesterday."

"Could have fooled me." The young Robin said from the giant computer console.

Nightwing gave a slight laugh and nodded, "Okay. I'm still a little uptight, but Gar's right. Star, you wanted them all here. And I can only guess why."

"Yes." Starfire, without any further preface, sat down on the cave floor. Her chest heaved as she inhaled, and immediately, all the other former Titans sat down beside her in a small circle. The young Robin had left the area after sensing the urgent need for privacy. "My planet...Tamaran..."

There was another gulp for air, and Gar felt himself squirm. He immediately looked to Nightwing, and he could see how much of a wreck the former Boy Wonder was. He saw his undying concern, and Gar's instinct fidgeted. _They still love each other. _He didn't have to be an empath to see that. He could practically smell it. Turning to Raven, he saw her eyes widened. She knew it too. The only question was if Starfire and Nightwing did.

"It's okay, Kory." Nightwing rubbed her back. "We're here."

"I know. I know. I just..." She wiped her eyes and exhaled. Her face became more rigid, and Starfire spoke evenly, "My planet was destroyed."

Gar felt his mouth drop, his palms hit the floor and his face line with sweat. He couldn't believe it, wouldn't have if it weren't for the deathly sincere expressions on both Nightwing's and Starfire's faces. Nightwing had grabbed her hand, and Starfire accepted it willingly.

"I'm so sorry, Star." Victor was the first one who managed to speak.

Gar could only nod. If he thought losing his parents was bad...how would it feel to have your entire life ripped from under you? He had no idea how to go about healing this sort of wound at all, but Raven did. He knew she did. The changeling turned to the empath immediately, and he saw her muscles tensing and her powers already flowing through. It was amazing what this girl could do with feelings. _ She could make anyone fall in love with her if she needed to._

Like she had to rely on super powers for that, but that was beside the point.

Raven was soothing Starfire, and the Tamaranean immediately took notice. Her green eyes flashed up to the empath and she held up her hands, "Friend Raven, that is unnecessary. My pain is a necessary part of my grief."

But the darker girl didn't let up. Probably because of what she was going to do next. "How?"

"How?" Starfire did seem a little brighter-nothing compared to her usual light but it was a start. "...I am uncertain. I was away from my planet. Galfore had sent me on an ambassador meeting with the Gordanians."

"Aren't those the creeps that were gonna sell you to the Citadel?" Gar made a disgusted noise. "What were you doing over there?"

"Trying to prevent a war. My sister...was not the best of diplomats. Galfore had thought it was a good idea to send me over to show that we do mean peace. I was accompanied by many other trained warriors." She looked to Nightwing at this. "My safety was not a problem. In fact...my planet was destroyed while I was on my mission."

"And those Tamaraneans," Raven began again. "Where are they?"

Starfire looked surprised at this. "I thought you may know that, Raven. They have asked your Justice League for assistance. I believe the majority of them are in space at the moment, looking for survivors."

"And Galfore?" Gar knew he shouldn't have asked, but he did.

Her voice was grim. "I believe he was not amongst them. I am truly the leader of Tamaran now...of what's left of it."

More silence. All five of them twitched, uncomfortable with the news, not knowing what to do from here because of the shock. Nightwing was the first to mobilize again. He dropped Starfire's hand lightly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to make a few calls and see what I can do. Raven?"

The empath stood up at their former leader's call and followed him out of the control room. That left Gar, Vic, and Starfire, none of them knowing exactly what to say. Gar was never too good with words. He always managed to stumble and mess stuff up, so instead, the changeling simply stood from his seat, sat again next to Starfire, and wrapped her into a tight hug. She gave in easily, and soon Vic was by their sides as well and they were holding each other.

No more words were needed.

* * *

><p>This was just as awful as Raven had thought, perhaps even worse. There were thousands, millions of people dead and she didn't know why or how. <em>A whole planet destroyed? <em>It irked her beyond belief, and Nightwing was sharing the same sentiment.

"Don't tell me you knew about this, Raven."

"I didn't." Raven tugged at her earpiece. She thought a second before telling him, "But your father did."

Nightwing cringed and clenched a fist, "Bruce knew?"

"At least he did an hour ago. I asked him for backup on a mission. He said the JLA couldn't because of an incident in space that he mysteriously couldn't elaborate on."

Nightwing nodded, "That can't be a coincidence."

"No. I don't believe so."

"So he's already working on it. That's good." Nightwing's head went down. He was still thinking hard about something, and Raven moved to comfort her friend.

"We'll figure it out. The JLA will not let whoever did this get away with it. Trust me on that."

"I know that, Raven. But, Star needs help. She needs her friends, but..."

She read him immediately. "We can't stay here."

Nightwing nodded, "Bruce would never understand. I can't risk all of our reputations, and you guys will be hard to pass off as normal."

Raven remembered the holo-ring she had. It was in a hidden compartment on her belt, being too valuable to leave in a bag somewhere in an alley, but she didn't mention the idea to Nightwing. It was one thing to look normal but a whole other thing to act like you belong in a billionaire's mansion. "The JLA has safe houses in Gotham. She can stay..."

"Can you stay with her?"

Her mind immediately said no. Staying with Starfire was the opposite of a good idea. She had important work to do and a partner/date that was most likely still pissed off at her. "Nightwing..."

"Raven, I've seen what happens when you put work before your friends and loved ones. It's destructive." He shook his head, "I can't tell you how often I wished for something different-that I had the courage to go with Star or bring her here...but I didn't. And Bruce..."

"You don't have to explain." She didn't want to hear about it anymore. She never had the best work-life balance, nor did she ever look to have one. And maybe it was Starfire's depression or the fact that she hadn't seen the alien in years and truly missed her, but for whatever reason, Raven found herself nodding. "Okay. But only for a couple of days, Dick."

His smile was infectious, reminding her of Gar. "Thank you, Raven. Thank you."

"Consider it a favor." Raven turned around and placed her hood over her head. "You owe me."

"Sure, sure."

"And you better pay a visit. Even if it's 4AM." Raven took on a lecturing tone, much to her dismay. "She misses you."

"Really?" His voice sounded so hopeful.

"I'm an empath." She shook her head, feeling no further need to explain and pressed a finger to her earpiece to contact Batman once again. She was lucky enough to get the Dark Knight on the line again, and although he was a little miffed at the news (though Raven restrained to say that the former Teen Titans had reconvened in his headquarters), he gave Raven the address to an apartment more central to the city.

It was a start, Raven knew. A bad one, maybe, but everything needed to start somewhere. She didn't bring up her anger that Batman had hid this from her. _I wonder if Wally knew. _ He was unconscious at the time; he probably didn't, but the majority of the league did, and they had failed to tell her.

"Starfire?" She saw her three friends together, and sighed. They were still so close, even after all this time. Gar and Victor were holding her hands, and they were laughing.

Gar didn't notice Raven approach. "And remember when Mother Mae-Eye fed us all hypnotic pie? Dudes, out of all the messes we've been in, I think that was the worst."

"But Beast Boy, the world was barely a threat when we were eating the delicious dessert of evil."

"Yeah," Gar agreed, "But come on, we all slept in the same bed. All _five_ of us. Terrible. My back would have ached for days."

She gave another light laugh, and Raven let a small smile fall on her face. The empath coughed and caught their attention. She let her hood fall back on her shoulders, "I have talked to Batman. He has agreed to give you an apartment in Gotham to stay in."

Starfire flew up, "That is glorious news! I am forever grateful, Raven! The JLA is already doing so much for my people. It is..."

"Necessary." Raven interrupted. "You were a Titan. We owe it to you. We have also agreed that I will stay with you."

The Tamaranean's green eyes became huge and she let loose an ear-crunching scream. She flew over to Raven and gripped her so tightly that her grey face became blue. "That is so wonderful! It will be just like the old days before our rekmas!"

_Rekmas? _ Raven remembered the word, and she hated it. She looked over to Gar and Vic who also understood. They used to have 'Blorthogs' to prevent it, but she guessed that didn't work. _We really did have a rekmas didn't we? _ She felt another surge of guilt. "Star..."

Starfire released the empath from her hold and wiped a shimmer of tears on her face. "And what of Cyborg and Beast Boy?"

Raven's purple eyes shifted to the two men. "What about them?"

"Will they also be joining us in Gotham?"

"No," Raven said immediately. "I'm sure they're busy. Gar lives in California and Victor..."

"Just got reassigned." Vic glanced at his smartphone and sighed, replacing it back in his pocket. "Star Labs wants someone to work with the league on finding the egg. And who better than a former hero, I guess."

Raven nodded. "I'll bring you to the Watchtower then. I have to pick up the keys anyway."

"And me?" Gar raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to just return to California and my fabulous life after hearing all of this? No way. Not happening."

"Gar..." Raven started. She saw the ambition in his eyes, the unsettlement, and knew what was going to happen.

Starfire sensed it too. She immediately embraced the green man and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Beast Boy."

"I'm assuming there'll be space for three, right Rave?" Gar asked.

"Four." Vic suddenly stated. "There's no way I'm staying in space this whole time. Gar's right. I can multitask. Find the egg and be with Starfire. Raven, maybe we can work together on the case?"

She liked that idea, and she was sure the league would as well. "Right. We'll work on the case. Good idea."

Nightwing came in then with Robin trailing behind him. The younger hero was beaming with excitement. "Guys, I asked Tim to do some research on the Star Labs incident. He can be your contact in Gotham if you girls need anything at all as well."

"What about you?" Starfire asked.

"I have to stay here and wait for Batman to return. He claims to have a mission for me as well. I want to help with Tamaran, Star. I'm sure..."

The alien smiled, "Thank you."

"So we're allowed to call him Tim?" Gar questioned with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

Robin nodded, "I don't think it's too revealing. There's a bazillion and a half Tims in this city. Plus makes things easier. I swear Nightwing flinches whenever one of you guys says Robin."

"Reflex," Nightwing muttered.

"Fine. We have two new guests in the apartment," Raven told Nightwing quickly. "I need to return to the Watchtower now and talk to the league."

"Oh! That is most exciting! We shall all go!" Starfire clapped her hands.

Raven blanched, "Starfire, I don't think..."

"Cool! Think they have a free cafeteria? I can go for a soy burger."

"Maybe I can get a look at the lab. I've been there once but they probably..."

_Dear, Azar. Help me. _ Raven rolled her eyes and looked to Nightwing who shrugged, "I'll stay here with Tim. The big man will flip on us if we leave the cave and Gotham unoccupied."

Raven nodded. She supposed it was too late to deny her friends. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." A dark portal appeared as she held out a hand. "You guys can come. But you _have_ to be quiet." She snapped a look to Gar. "Or else."

"Gotcha. Touch everything and be as obnoxious as possible." Gar smirked, "Don't worry, Rave. I'll be right by your side the whole time."

She hated how her stomach flipped at that. Maybe Gar was right. Maybe she was unsteady. The other former Titans waved goodbye to Tim and Nightwing before walking through the dark abyss.

* * *

><p>As promised, Gar stuck to Raven's side even when Vic immediately saw Garth and harassed the former Titan to bring him to the labs and when Starfire was taken by Green Lantern and Superman to talk about the current progress with the Tamaraneans.<p>

"So, Rave..." He tried not to be distracted by the incredible awesomeness that was the Watchtower. Everything was so high-tech even more so than Star Labs or the Titans Tower, and Gar felt the adrenaline rush. It was too much like the old days. "We're we going?"

"My room." She said simply, and he felt his heart immediately hit his chest. Gar bit his lip and tried to keep even steps, though that was getting increasingly difficult. He watched Raven walk through the hallway towards the permanent living section of the Watchtower.

His green eyes caught the grandeur of space outside and Gar exhaled. "Cool. It must be awesome living here."

"It is."

"Do a lot of you?"

"Only some of us. A lot of heroes have families back on earth." Raven grabbed his wrist when Gar made a complete stop. "Let's keep moving. I have to talk to Batman after I pack."

"Right, okay." Gar 'allowed' her to hold on to him and waved to the other heroes passing through the hall. Most recognized him instantly, some he knew, some he didn't. There were a lot of heroes in the league, Gar realized, and he wondered if it was truly like a family with all those people, like the Doom Patrol and Titans were. Sure, the Titans had an extended network, but the personal, individual teams were the true connection. Gar made the assumption that the JLA was probably similar.

_I wonder if her and Flash have that connection._

Nope, nope. He wouldn't think about that.

His face lit up when he saw two familiar faces walking towards them, one with pink hair and the other a blond. "Kole? Jericho? Dudes!" He broke away from Raven's hold and embraced the two former honorary Titans. "What are you guys doing here?"

"The same reason you are I imagine, BB." Kole's usual happy face was softened. "We heard what happened to Starfire's planet. We wanted to help. Superman released a message to the entire honorary Titans network and asked us to meet on Earth. We arrived at the Watchtower only a few hours ago."

He pushed passed the fact that he didn't get that message, as he imagined none of the Titans from Jump City did. _What's up with that? _His mouth decided to focus on something less serious and infinitely more personal.

"We?" Gar locked eyes with Jericho's and then saw that the two heroes were holding hands. _Didn't see that one coming. _ "Where's Gnarrk?"

"Back home. He doesn't really like the idea of space. After the Titans disbanded, some of us decided to stick together. I met Jericho last year, right?" Kole smiled at the blond boy who only nodded. She continued. "Jericho felt a responsibility to continue being a hero."

"That's kind of you," Gar didn't know why Raven's voice sounded slightly suspicious. "Have you been feeling okay, Jericho?"

Gar nudged the dark girl. "Of course he has, Rave." He felt slightly embarrassed. "Well, got to go! Maybe we can all catch up sometime. Still have your communicators?"

"Yes, of course!" Kole pulled the yellow device from her pocket. "We can double date!"

Gar immediately paled and didn't bother to turn to Raven before the empath grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, not even hiding the embarrassing shade of red coating her pale face. When they were well out of earshot, Gar pulled himself free once again, "What was that about, Raven?"

"Nothing?" She quipped.

"So are you normally that hostile to honorary Titans?"

She paused and Gar realized they had stopped in front of the door to her room. It was similar to the Titans Tower with her name engraved on the door in solid metal. Raven pushed a code into a side security panel and the door opened. After she walked in, she turned back to Gar who was still in the hall. "Are you coming?"

Pushing his surprise of the invitation aside, Gar walked in and took a cursory glance at her room. _Her _room. He loved her room at the Tower-despite its creepiness. And this was exactly the same. It was sort of soothing, calm. Sure, the candles made him sneeze sometimes but he loved how it just seemed completely her. It was neurotically clean, every book in its place. Candles lined the window seat that was currently overlooking the moon. There were mugs, bags of tea, more books on one shelf than Gar had read in his entire life. Gar crashed on the bed, "Well?"

"Well?"

"You always that mean to Kole and Jericho or what?"

"I didn't expect them to be here." Raven took off her cloak and tossed it on a nearby chair. She moved to her closet and placed a black duffel bag on the floor.

"Me either. But hence the surprised feeling, not the annoyed one. You getting your emotions confused?"

"No."

"How about them dating then. That must have surprised you."

Raven started packing, "If she can speak to that Neanderthal, I bet a mute is no problem to understand." She folded her clothes slowly and then glanced up, "Gar?"

He sat up, "Want me off your bed?"

"No..." She blushed, "I mean, that's not what I was going to say. Jericho...I found files about him from the league. You know, he tried to get in."

Gar coughed, "He did? He's powerful. They didn't let him?"

"No."

"Why?"

"They almost didn't let me in either because of my history."

She was speaking in riddles, and Gar groaned. He didn't want to try and decipher what Raven was saying. She was hard to understand already. "So, you're implying that Jericho's history is worse than you being tied to a demon? Er, used to being tied to a demon."

Raven only nodded.

"How?"

"You have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially Nightwing. He can't know."

"I promise Raven."

She stopped packing and walked over to sit on the bed. "I'm serious, Garfield. You can't tell anyone. Not Victor or Starfire. You can't repeat it even to yourself."

"Raven." He moved his body next to her so that their hips almost touched. "You don't have to tell me."

"No, I trust you." Raven said, making Gar's insides burn. "His father was Slade."

There was a barrage of thoughts pounding through him, one that Slade could ever find someone crazy enough to ever have children with and two that his child just so happened to be one of the nicest, honorable heroes Gar knew. He stuttered through his loss of breath, as if he were just sucker punched in the gut, "What?"

"Slade. Deathstroke. Remember him?" Raven didn't move from the bed.

"Of course I remember him! But...Jericho? Really?"

"Really."

"Jeez." Gar fell back, his head hitting the sheets. He thought by now nothing could surprise him anymore. How wrong was that? "When did you find out?"

"Two months ago."

He nodded, "Well, he obviously wasn't influenced by good ol' dad, was he?"

"No."

"Thank God for that. Let's be happy that Slade's kid happens to be good guy. Feels like we lucked out with that one."

Raven went back to her duffel bag and finished throwing in some essentials. It seemed light, but Gar wasn't surprised. Raven was never the fussy type. "Are you done?"

"Yup!" The changeling practically jumped up and followed the empath out, but Raven turned when she saw something emerge from the ruffled sheets. Gar looked to see what she was staring at, "Is that..."

"Don't say a word." Raven dropped the bag and moved from Gar in the doorway. She went to the bed and grabbed the two items, one which she kept under her pillow and the other that was by her side as she slept. "Don't you dare."

He couldn't have if he tried. His mouth was dried to a close. Raven dropped the green lion into her duffel and almost placed the yellow communicator inside as well. She stopped though, and instead, placed the electronic device on her belt next to her black phone.

Gar fumbled for words. "...Mark?"

"You were right." She said before placing the bag on her shoulder. "It gets dark in space."

Their eyes were locked again, and Gar couldn't turn away. It was his lion that she had in her bed, _his_. His heart was literally going to collapse from how fast and hard it was pumping. _Do it, Garfield. _ What he wanted to do though, he wasn't completely sure of. Kiss her? Tell her he loved her?

All those would have been wonderfully terrifying, but Gar couldn't. The halls were too crowded, and soon, a red suit was approaching them, and Gar felt the Beast clawing at his chest. _Easy boy. You've got nothing to worry about. Rave would never go for this guy. _

"Raven, Beast Boy." The Flash acknowledged them both with a grin. "Fancy seeing you two here. Thought you had an important mission to do, Rave."

"Raven, and I do." Raven moved away from Gar immediately. "Wally, have you heard from Batman?"

"Just talked to him. You and me have some work to do." Flash turned to Gar, "No pets allowed."

"What is it?" Raven didn't acknowledge the insult or Gar's growls from behind her. "Something with the Egg?"

"Lead on Red X. If we can't trace one, we can find the other. I got a lock on a new shipment of Xenothium coming into Gotham via Wayne Enterprises."

Gar shook his head, "You should check your facts. Red X's suit hasn't run off Xenothium ever since Nightwing took his belt." _Ha, shows what you know._

"Maybe." Flash said. "But he's still been sighted in the area. The shipment came with another valuable item. Some yellow, purple, red diamond or something. I don't know. Nightwing actually stopped two creeps from getting it before. But Bats thinks Red X will be interested."

Gar growled a little louder, and he expected Flash to make some offhanded comment, but he didn't. Instead, the speedster placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, it's a good lead. Better than nothing. And I guess..." He glanced to Raven and then narrowed his eyes back at the changeling. "I guess you can come since you're all suited up. As long as you _behave._"

"I always behave." Gar sniffed. "And sure. I bet you could use a little help, right Kid Flash?"

"_The_ Flash. But just call me Wally, BB." He smirked and turned back to the empath. "Meet you at briefing, Rach?"

Raven flushed at the name, though Gar didn't understand why since it had nothing to do with anything at all, and nodded. "Okay."

The Flash gave a slight salute before speeding off. Gar bit down, miffed, and grumbled in a low whisper, "Man, I hate that guy."

* * *

><p>AN:

Plot's getting clearer. Maybe. I'll work on the next chapter! Byebye and thanks!


	9. Mind Games

A/N:

Currently rewatching Season 4 after watching Seasons 1-3. Things that happen when I can't drive anywhere.

Thanks so much to all of my wonderful/fabulous/amazing/spectacular reviewers. Getting feedback is what makes all of this worthwhile and feeds my writing so doublethanks:

_Katwizzle_: Nope, he doesn't. And you'll feel even worse for him after this one. I'm not sure why I'm so mean to him.

_The Cretin: _Yes, couldn't help the Dick comment. It had to happen. and thanks for the Nightwing compliment! He's a mess of a character so I'm glad I did him decently! Jinx or Linda? Which one. Hm. Or maybe I'll just leave him with Rav- can't even finish typing that. And yes, a whole new universe. It'll be interesting to see, but I guess even if they aren't together, they had a happy ending in the other version. The red does make him seem more...vicious. But Gar? Vicious? I digress.

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: _hehehe Rose. Or Grant. Or Both. Or...Well, I can't say anymore. Also, Raven having a soft spot for stuffed animals makes me laugh in a good way.

_LobsterMobster95: _Yay! That's a big compliment about Nightwing! He has to mature a little; he's not a complete idiot. And I'm glad you're liking their rivalry! I'm having way too much fun with it!

_Joseph: _Aw, I didn't mean for you to hate Wally! But I can definitely see what you mean...not like I ship BB/Rae or anything...

On with the actual story, and I apologize for my long notes

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of DC comics.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 7:Mind Games<br>_

They had met with Cyborg and Starfire before finding Flash. Raven had gone to get the keys from Batman and gave the pair the set before explaining the mission. "I'll teleport you two there now. We'll meet you shortly."

"Call if you need further assistance." Starfire held up her Titans communicator and took Raven's duffel for her. "Please."

"We'll be fine Star." Gar was practically humming with excitement. It had felt like forever since he had been on a mission, and even though he had fought Red X before (_and lost..._), he was excited to be fully suited up again. Especially with Raven.

Vic and Starfire waved goodbye, and Raven opened a portal for them that would lead to their new, temporary home. Gar waited for his two friends to pass through before he approached Raven again, this time a little more cautiously. "So, what's the plan?"

"The plan?" Raven raised an eyebrow and closed the dark portal with a simple hand motion. She turned to Gar slightly and then nodded her head forward, suggesting that they keep walking. "The plan is to meet Wally at briefing, be briefed, and catch Red X."

Obviously. He knew that. "Right, right."

Red X. He could catch Red X. He had caught Red X before. After the Brotherhood of Evil fiasco, the Titans had been somewhat lenient towards the thief, but he was still brought to jail several times-always in costume though. Red X's identity always bothered Gar. He fought like Nightwing did, was able to steal from Nightwing in the first place, but they could never figure out who he was. _As long as it's not Larry_. Gar held back a snicker when he looked again at Raven. She had hated that topsy turvy world more than anyone else.

There was one point that Gar had thought it was Nightwing's old replacement, the Robin before Tim took up the mantle. But that theory went up in smoke when the Joker had killed him. And besides, the vigilante seemed older than Nightwing was, not younger which the second Robin appeared to be.

Red X was still running amuck, and he was appearing to get harder and harder to catch. _I need to get my morphing under control. _He felt his muscles twitch at the thought. There was adrenaline there, an old but familiar feeling, yet Gar couldn't help but feel some amount of dread. What if he couldn't morph anymore? What if it were so unbearably painful that he got stuck mid transformation or in a different form?

Sweat started to drip off his green nose. _I forgot how hot this suit was. Is it polyester? _ He knew it wasn't-that it was some specially designed material he couldn't begin to understand. Gar wiped the liquid onto his grey glove and made sure to match pace with Raven. Instead of looking around the Watchtower, Gar looked at his shoes, his covered body. He thought of it for a moment as a new layer of skin but knew that wasn't accurate at all. It was more like he had walked back into his old skin, what he used to be. For even though it was skintight, he had never felt so much like himself. It was an odd sensation of being both physically exposed but mentally comfortable. He had a brief thought of changing the colors when he had finally outgrown his old one, but he decided against it. Black and purple was a cool combo, and he rocked it well.

The briefing room was a circular hall with floor to ceiling windows, all showing the sublime twilight of space. There was a large computer in the middle, as well as a round lighted platform that Gar guessed was the teleportation thing Vic was salivating over before.

Raven turned to Gar as the metal door to the room closed behind them swiftly. Her cheekbones were highlighted under the green-blue glow of the lighting, and Gar found himself vocalizing his amazement, "Dude, this place is so awesome. Wish we had the guy that designed this do the tower."

"Thank you. It took a lot of time, but I think it was worth it." Green Lantern walked forward, unmasked, with no green energy illuminating his being.

Gar ran up, "Dude...I mean, Mr. Lantern, it's so great to meet the major green-guy himself! I mean, besides that other Lantern-but I always liked you more. I mean, this place is amazing and..."

Green Lantern turned to Raven, "Is he always like this?"

"Unfortunately." Raven rolled her eyes, "John, will you be briefing us?" The empath shifted to look over the Lantern's shoulder and saw Wally walking towards them all.

"Guys." Flash nodded towards them all. "BB, glad to see you're coming."

Gar looked for the snide undertone but couldn't find any. He crossed his arms and eyed him warily still, "'Course I am. Raven needs help from someone."

The Flash looked disgruntled even from under his mask, but didn't say a word. Green Lantern decided to speak before anyone else could. "I'm sure Wally here has already giving you some information concerning your target and locale. Beast Boy, you're not a member of the JLA, but we respect your standing as a former Teen Titan and allow you to participate on this mission. The JLA is in no way responsible for your actions."

"Got it." Gar didn't hesitate to agree and took no offense. The JLA was the most prominent superhero team in the universe, and they had a reputation to uphold.

"Here's a temporary communicator that you can use to talk to your teammates and back here. I'll be supervising your mission." He pointed to two small buttons on the ear device. "This one contacts the Watchtower directly and is your emergency backup. The other one is a private line. Speak the heroes name and it should connect you to their line privately."

"Cool." Gar took the earpiece willingly and placed it in his ear. "You even had it fitted for my ears. Awesome."

"Pointed ears aren't a problem. We're just happy you have ears at all." Green Lantern crossed his arms. "The device is tiny and won't be visible from the naked eye. Just remember the one towards the top is the emergency contact and the lower one is the private line. The device also contains a tracker so that we can come to your location as quickly as possible if need be. Any questions?"

"Nope. Got everything about the ear thingamajig. Red X?"

"As you know he has a new belt. Although it doesn't need to run off Xenothium, it still can. Batman arranged a shipment to be sent to Wayne Enterprises as well as the famous blue Wittelsbach diamond, once owned by the King of Spain."

Flash whistled loudly, "Sounds pricey."

"It is."

"It also sounds like we're baiting him." Raven frowned. "Red X will figure it out."

"Let him. He wants a challenge. He lives for it. Don't you remember, Rave? Let's get moving though. Where are the packages now?" Gar asked.

"In a storage facility. Nightwing had recently stopped two villains from intercepting the packages, and they should be in Warehouse 7 by the docks. We'll transport you outside where you can stake him out."

The three other heroes nodded under Green Lantern's direction and moved to the lighted platform. When the Green Lantern reached the large computer he held up three fingers, counting down. Gar exhaled, slightly nervous, and jumped when Raven touched his shoulder. "Just think of it as my powers. It's practically the same."

There were only two fingers. Gar swallowed, "Practically?"

"Mostly. It's a little...brighter."

Considering that traveling via the Raven express felt like being swallowed by a pit of darkness, that didn't surprise him. Flash gave him a strong pat on the back, "And that burning sensation passes within 10 minutes. No worries."

_...What?_

Green Lantern already powered up the machine and soon a stream of bright light bathed Gar, Raven, and Flash. The changeling cringed as his whole body became enveloped and waited for the rush of pain, the tinge of fire prickling his green skin, but it never came. As the light dissipated, Gar cracked one eye open cautiously, but was only met with the sight of dark water.

They were back in Gotham; this time closer to the city and more specifically it's harbor. It was a shoddy area, not like there was much of Gotham besides shoddy areas. Gar tiptoed across the concrete dock and glanced at his teammates. Both Flash and Raven gave each other long looks before nodding. Raven then turned to the green hero, "Dock 7 is right there. Flash is going to wait towards the back exit and I'll scope it out from Dock 8. See the grey building?"

Gar switched his attention over to where Raven was pointing. It was an average storage building, with big windows and doors in order to get the packages inside. "My guess is that's where the Xenothium is?"

"Yes. We thought it best if you could sneak in first."

_We? _ Gar turned to Wally who only offered a thumbs up. _When did they have the time to talk about that? In the two seconds they looked at each other? _His chest tightened. "Right. Sure."

"I'll warn you when we see Red X approach, and then we'll meet you inside."

"Got it, Rave." Gar inhaled deeply. _Alright Logan, just do it. It's easy. _He took another breath and made a fist. _Why isn't this easy?_

"You okay there, BB?" Flash scratched his head, "You don't look so hot. Maybe you should call it quits...again."

"I'm fine." Gar snapped, rather fiercely before stretching and transforming into a falcon. When he approached the wall of the concrete structure his mind shifted, asking his body to become an ant again. He felt every feather disappear and turn into his new exoskeleton. His beak was replaced with mantles, his eyes now compound. He fumbled as he tried to crawl on six legs and found a small gap between the foundation and the wall.

_Not so bad. This isn't bad. I can do this._

He pushed his malleable frame underneath the wall and chewed down on imaginary teeth. It _ached_. His body felt crushed, destroyed, but Gar only grumbled and remained in his ant form, unsure if he could transform back if he tried.

There were boxes everywhere, giant crates of wood and metal lining every wall. All of them were labeled with a giant black "W" on the outside. _So which one is the diamond and Xenothium?_ Then again, perhaps that didn't really matter. Once Red X managed to get in then it would just be a quick catch. Who cared which box he wanted in this mess?

Gar cracked his lower appendages and marched on to find a protected corner between two box piles to hide between. He was stunned at the JLA's communicator's ability to follow his body's transformation, but his amazement was short lived. Soon, as what usually happened on these stake out type missions, he got bored. Really bored. It felt like hours, days before he felt the gentle crackle in his ear and a voice in his head.

"Gar, a figure's approaching the building. It's most likely Red X. I'm going in."

He didn't respond, not like he could. _Rave and Wally better know what they're do-_

Glass shattered around him, raining down from the windows above. _GO! GO! _ Gar scrambled and then morphed, hiding this time in a turtle shell just as more glass threatened to cut him and his fragile body. He waited for the alarm to go off, but it never did. There was no siren or red flashes, no warning bells or lights. _Red X must have deactivated it from the outside._

There were footsteps now walking calmly across the concrete floor and then the hum of something familiar-Raven's portals.

"Red X!"

He heard her call as she entered the room and tried to go back to his human form. His body started stretching, but then he stopped as a dagger of pain surged through him. It made his blood boil and freeze-his transformations mixing, colliding together into one tangled mess of anatomy.

"Well, well. Isn't it the little goth girl?" A pause. "Not so little anymore, are you sweetheart?"

He strained his muscles to move-to do anything-but they wouldn't cooperate. His mind felt like crumbling, and he felt himself panic. _I'm stuck. I'm stuck. Raven's in danger and I can't freaking change! What the hell?  
><em>

"Stop!" There was another voice, and Gar recognized it as the Flash's. He was running in, and Red X only laughed before another sound could be heard hitting the floor. Gar recognized it instantly as the red, projectile goo, and Flash's speed immediately came to a halt.

"Where's BB?"

Another pause and then Raven's soft voice, "I don't know."

"You okay, Rach?"

"Fine. AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!"

Gar rolled as the crates began falling, but it was nowhere near him. There was more clattering, broken boxes and incantations, and Gar willed his body to shift again. _What's going on? What's happening?_

There were explosions that Gar could only hear, not see. It was deafening. The booms echoed against the wall and reverberated back against his ears. His sight was still frazzled and blurred and he wanted to scream as he heard a body fall and hit the ground.

_RAVEN! _

His muscles jumped and he felt his body for hands, for feet, for a normal face and pointed ears. "RAVEN!" He had a human voice box again. He immediately took full advantage of it. "RAVEN! RAVEN!"

Gar took in the scene before him as he sprinted. Boxes lay broken everywhere, no more than splinters on the floor. It was smoky from Red X's attack, but Gar narrowed his eyes to let the more animal side of him take control. The Flash was stuck in the red muck as he thought, and Raven...Raven was on the ground holding her head in pain.

"Raven!" He knelt down beside her and touched her arm. "What happened?"

"Stop it. Don't worry about me. Get him!" She ripped herself away from his touch and pointed above to another tower of crates. Red X was perched there.

The thief cocked his head to the side and held out his hands in fake greeting. "Well, well. Ready for round 2, double B?" Red X jumped in the air and somersaulted to the floor. "What would it be this time? A snake? Bear? Gorilla?"

His body shook at the thought of transforming. "What about a human?"

"Gar, what are you thinking!" Raven shouted behind him. She scrambled to her feet. "Azarath Metrion Zin..."

"Shhh." Red X flung his namesake to her face, silencing the half demon completely. He continued his advance on the changeling. "Got some more friends with you this time? Did the robot run out of batteries?"

Gar clenched his fists and stood up straight. He didn't need his forms. He knew martial arts. Yeah, so Nightwing had a rough time with this guy back in the day but that shouldn't matter, right? _I'm so screwed. _"Just shut it."

Red X's eyes wavered to the girl struggling with the red vice on her lips before looking at Gar."Who would have thought the dark one would have grown up to be such a hottie? I wouldn't have wasted all that time with Rob's girl if I knew."

"Shut up!" "Shut up!"

Both Gar and Flash looked at each other from across the warehouse, only inciting more laughter from the thief. "But then again." His skull face turned towards the half-demon again, "You seem to have enough competition already, huh?"

Gar growled and clawed at Red X's shoulder, tearing through the black fabric and marking his skin, "Look, Red X. We just want answers. You can take the diamond and Xenothium for all I care."

"Oh I fully intend to." He ripped Gar's hand off his shoulder. "And get off me! You don't want to mess with me, Beast Boy. Especially without any backup."

"As much as I'd love to punch you right now, Dude, this isn't about some mineral. You think the JLA really cares so much about that?"

Red X huffed, "Got it. You goody goodies have bigger fish to fry. Or should I say eggs?"

"Where is it?" Gar grabbed him by the collar.

"Whoa! Lay off the clothes! And I'd tell you. I really would, but..."

"But?"

Red X pushed Gar to the floor. "Blood is thicker than water." The thief pulled a small, grey sphere from his belt and tossed it to the floor. Smoke filled the building's and Gar's nostrils, and the green man fell to the ground from the lack of oxygen, coughing.

It was only when the Flash tunneled his arms into mini tornadoes that the air cleared and Gar managed to kneel to a sitting position. His green eyes scanned the surrounding area, but he knew what he would find. "Nothing. He's gone."

"Little help here?" Flash asked.

Gar ignored the speedster's call and went over to Raven. She was still on the ground, pulling at the X on her mouth. "I got it, Rave." She stopped moving as he placed his hands on the red substance and pulled. After a few tugs, Gar managed to remove it from her face and free her voice. "There you go. Now..."

"Where were you?"

He flinched back at her strong voice, her purple eyes staring him down. "Raven?"

"You were here. You were right here. Why didn't you show up until later?"

"I..." His voice stopped and he turned to the Flash who was still stuck in the goo. Even his face read disappointment, and Gar didn't dare turn back to see what her expression was. "I don't know."

"Well you better figure it out." Raven pushed passed him, cloak and hood flying, and walked to the Flash. She used her dark energy to pull him from the red glue and brushed him off. "Are you alright?"

He nodded and rested his hands behind his neck. "Yup. But I think the warehouse has been better."

Raven smiled, _smiled_, and touched both of his shoulders. "Wait right here. Don't say anything, Wally."

Gar watched the two carefully and looked away quickly when Raven came towards him. Her arms were crossed over her chest almost protectively, and she waited for him to speak. But he didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to explain to her. "Raven, I'm sorry."

"This isn't like you." Raven raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

He couldn't help but look at Wally when she said this. There was no way he wanted to talk about it now, not with _him _there. "It can wait." He nudged to the Flash, "You two obviously have some other business to do."

"Gar..."

"What's the address, Rave? Of the apartment Star's staying at? I can find my way. Get a cab. Something."

Raven went to touch him but drew her hand back under his stare. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Gar, you know I know that's not true."

"Raven." He looked at her eyes and knew how cold his must have felt. Raven edged back from him, and Gar just shook his head. "What's the address?"

"156 West Common Avenue. Wally and I..."

He waited for some kind of blow. _They're together, aren't they? _ He sensed it, the Beast did. He felt tortured staring at her now, but Gar waited for Raven to admit it. He needed to hear it straight from her. But she didn't say anything like that. Raven gestured her hand to the side and opened up a portal, "We'll be at the Watchtower. I'll see you soon."

He didn't acknowledge her words or the Flash's wave goodbye. Gar stormed out of the warehouse and onto the Gotham streets, letting the cold air nip his green, prickling his skin. His nails became sharper, his muscles tensed. He was losing his cool, and Gar needed to stop and breathe.

"Relax." But he didn't know how to. Gar rubbed his hands against his face and massaged his temples. Slowly, he moved across the streets, unaware of where he was going and what was happening to his life.

He found himself thinking back, not to the Titan days but to Africa. He remembered his parents and the village that he loved so much. He remembered his time with the Doom Patrol and how hard it was to keep up with the seasoned heroes. Gar had so many families in his life, so many people that he cared for and cared about him. And he had almost lost them all in some ways. He had hoped the Titans would be different, but it wasn't.

_Rekmas._

Starfire warned them that it would happen. Sure, he wasn't bald or fat, but the effect was the same. There was this huge divide, and something in Gar had turned off. His will for fighting was wavering, running off pure excitement and memories but no drive. He had been practically stuck as a turtle before. _I should be lucky I didn't get stuck. _Though despite the risk, half his body was itching to change again already. _Maybe all I need is practice. _

He wanted to change into an eagle. That was the full intention, but as Gar kept thinking-urging his muscles-nothing came. All he could think of was a different bird. A black one that was back in space with Wally. Raven distracted his thoughts and he found his body unable to morph.

Gar wanted to rip out his hair and scream, but he didn't. He wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't the type to give in to nightmares, not without a joke or a fight. No, no. This wouldn't defeat him. Being Beast Boy wasn't him, not completely, and if he couldn't change, so be it. He was still a hero, and some of the best heroes didn't have any powers at all.

The idea hit him then. _I'll make this up to you, Raven. _ _I promise_. Not coming to a teammate's aid was almost unforgivable, but he would do it. And he would start by finding out who Red X is.

* * *

><p>She pushed through the hallway of the Watchtower uncaring that her partner was calling her name and begging her to slow down. It was hard for her to wrap her head around what had just happened. Gar was a good teammate, a good hero, but he failed to follow directions.<p>

_Something probably distracted him._ That wouldn't have been completely off base with the changeling. He was easily distracted, having the attention span similar to one of his more basic animal forms. But it was still a mission, and Raven failed to remember when he had acted this way in the past. _He doesn't. He never would do this on a mission when we're in danger. Something's wrong. Gar, what's wrong with-_

"Raven! Hey!"

Her purple eyes flashed as she turned and Raven crossed her arms when facing Flash. "Sorry. I didn't think it was possible to go too fast for you."

"Usually it isn't." He scratched his head and reached for her hand. "Something up?"

She didn't grab it. "No."

"Yeah, not believing that for some reason." The speedster followed Raven down the hallway but when she wouldn't stop to talk, he sprinted ahead to block her path. "Alright now. You forgot I'm an expert at reading women, didn't you?"

Raven sniffed,"Hardly."

"If it's about the X guy, don't worry. We'll catch him, Raven." His hand slipped over her neck and shoulders and Flash pulled her close. "You've got to be a little more optimistic."

She didn't want to be more optimistic, and she didn't want him touching her. "Please move." Raven pushed him aside again and kept her pace when suddenly she stopped. The thought that came to mind confused her. _Why did I even come here?  
><em>

"Raven?" Flash's voice was laced with even more concern. "You seem..."

_Unsteady._ Her lip quivered._ Gar's right. That must be why. _"I'll be in my room. You can research Red X's next target. Keep me informed."

"Shouldn't we...I don't know Raven... talk?"

The sensitivity in his voice frightened her, "About what?"

"I was thinking our next date?"

She practically laughed, "You can't be serious," and turned, lilac hair shrouding her cheeks. "Is that really all you think about?"

Flash grunted, "Hey, come on. This superhero business sneaks up on you. You should learn to take as many breaks as you can."

Raven rolled her eyes, failing to see the point. "Fine, whatever."

"I'll call you then."

"Sure." That would just be another thing she'd have to investigate. Raven couldn't believe she had forgotten it. It was one of her, if not the, most important possessions she owned. _Then again, you almost forgot Mark too._

She unlocked her door and glanced at her mirror and then bit her lip at the realization. _Really Raven? A green stuffed lion is as important as your meditation mirror? _Raven almost laughed a bit out loud at the thought and approached her dresser where her mirror lay.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." The words fell easily from her lips, and soon, her body was being brought into itself, into her mind. Surely there she would find some answers.

* * *

><p>He wasn't exactly the detective type, but he was on a team with the protégé of the greatest detective of all time for years. Gar knew some basics (<em>some<em>) yet he didn't like wasting time. He was still in the middle of Gotham with no idea of where he was going, but that didn't matter. There wasn't really any intention of going back to the apartment anyway. Not this second at least.

Gar grabbed the yellow communicator from his belt and immediately dialed his former leader's number. _Ro-Nightwing, pick up. _He didn't know why he had this doubt that he would. And, as he always did, Nightwing picked up the other line immediately, "Beast Boy-I mean- Gar, is something wrong?"

"Either's okay. And yeah, everything's good. Well, not good. Red X sort of escaped but we're all safe."

"That's alright. I'm sure you'll catch him eventually. We've done it before."

_Whoa._

That was certainly a change. _Rob's certainly chilled out. Maybe it's all that blue in his costume...Those green leggings couldn't have put him in the best mood. _ "Right, I know. But I was thinking of taking a different approach. Hitting him at home."

"Home? But Gar, we don't know..." Nightwing paused. "You've realized I've been trying to find out his identity for years."

"Realized. Noted. And I'm sure you've looked up every rational solution possible." Gar grinned, "So I was thinking of doing something a little irrational."

"So what could you possibly need from me?"

The changeling laughed a bit. The Robin he knew never really cracked jokes, even at Gar's expense. "I was thinking of looking at your notes first to get some idea at least."

There was no answer on the other side, and Gar coughed a bit, "Er...Nightwing? Hey, has anyone ever thought of shortening that? I mean, I was BB. Does NW sound too..."

"Gar, I'll send the files to the computer at the apartment. You can log in as my guest. The password is..." The former Boy Wonder's throat caught for a moment and he exhaled.

"NW?" He wondered for a second if Nightwing would tell him. The guy had always been secretive.

"It's Star's name. The real one."

_Oh. _"The full thing?"

"Yeah."

Gar sighed. He forgot where the hell that apostrophe went, but he wouldn't force it out of Nightwing. He was already struggling enough. "Cool. Thanks, Dude. Oh, and one last thing."

"Yeah, what's up?"

Gar brought his green eyes up to the street sign, "Mind telling me how to get to the place from Fulham Street?"

* * *

><p>She hadn't meditated like this for awhile. After she and the Titans banished her father back to hell, Raven went to Nevermore out of habit more than anything else. Then there was an incident with her emotions escaping, and later Wisdom basically told her that she could handle herself on her own now, so she had no real reason to go back inside to check on Rage-which was more her own version of anger than anything truly demonic.<p>

It surprised her that when she had entered, she wasn't in the merciless field of pink flowers that was Happy's terrain. The last couple times she had entered her mirror, she'd always end up there. _You haven't gone in here for so long. _

This place was still extremely familiar. This was where she had entered most of the time when she came to Nevermore before she joined the Titans. The sky was dark, black, and the area was a large maze constructed entirely out of stone. She didn't try to enter the maze, but instead waited for the emotion to come to her.

"He-Hello."

Raven crossed her arms and removed the hood from her head to take in the figure in front of her. "Timid."

"It's...it's good to see you again."

"Same." Though that wasn't exactly true. Timidity was a part of herself that she hadn't really missed. "Do you mind explaining, Timid, why my mind is such a mess right now?"

The grey hooded Raven twisted her hands together. "I-I..."

"Is it Trigon? Did he somehow manage to get back here and mess everything up again?"

"No..."

Raven sighed in relief. She hadn't sensed her father at all, and she was pretty sure he was gone for good, but she couldn't be exactly sure. "Then _what_?"

"I...I don't think I should tell you."

She felt her eye twitch, "Timid..."

"Wisdom...she said that you were normal now. And that normal people usually figure these things out on their own."

"I'm not normal." Raven crossed her arms and then gestured to the emotion. "Obviously."

"Still...I...I shouldn't. I...may get into trouble and then...Oh! I'm sorry I can't tell you, Raven! I really am but..."

"Forget it." Raven scowled. This wasn't going to be helpful at all. "You're right. I shouldn't rely on actually entering my mind to figure myself out. But I don't want my powers to be a risk to anyone either."

"They aren't."

Raven turned to see the yellow hooded emotion flanked by two other feelings. "Wisdom, Brave, Love." She narrowed her eyes at the less seen emotion, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the hot guy you just ignored?"

She squirmed at herself for using the word 'hot'. "Wally needs to learn how to prioritize."

Love gave a knowing smile and an impassive shrug, "Okay."

"Is that what this is about?" Raven took a census of all her emotions. "Let me guess, you," She pointed to Love. "...are here to show me to take my 'personal' feelings to a new level. And you," Raven glanced to Brave, "...are here to tell me to get over my shyness and do something about it. Right?"

"Actually, we were all just talking together. I'm sure Sloth would have come too if she weren't so lazy." Wisdom interjected.

Raven gave a defeated groan, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Jeez Rave! Of course she is!" Brave came up and patted Raven on the back. "That was pretty good psychoanalas-whatever you were doing!"

"We don't all think with our fists," Raven stepped back from the green cloaked emotion before looking at all of them. "And no."

Wisdom approached her, "But, Raven..."

"Do you really think that's important right now? Rationally? Look, I just wanted to make sure Trigon wasn't back or that Rage wasn't running rampant. If this is all about some _boy_ I'm not giving it the time of day."

Love was immediately discouraged, "But why?"

Timid raised her hand shyly, "Isn't...isn't it obvious why?"

"Not because of you," Raven explained. "Red X just sold an alien life form to some unknown criminal. One of my best friends just had her home obliterated." Her voice became sharp as she addressed all of them, "If you think _Wally_ trumps any of that, you're all delusional."

"Whoever said this was about Wally?" Love gave an amused grin.

That was it. Raven turned around from her emotions and placed her hood over her eyes. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She opened a portal with her hand and went through it immediately. As she entered her room, she sat on her bed and placed her head in her gloved hands to try and soothe the upcoming headache.

* * *

><p>AN:

Reviews are like ice cream on hot summer days. And I mean good ice cream. Not like sherbert or anything.

Also, I just saw the "Turn Back the Clock" short. Nearly died. Best thing ever.


	10. Restless

A/N:

No words, just thanks. Thank you reviewers and readers! All of your support means an incredible amount to me (as always!):

_The reviewer: _They are sort of similar, aren't they? That was actually my initial connection, and then I remembered...well, that was sort of a thing in the comics. Seems our dear Raven has a type.

_Anonymous_: Hm, Jason Todd, huh? I just think the commute from Gotham to Jump would be a little much for him. But you and BB can try to think of a solution together... As for your second point, um...well you can wait and see! No promises!

_The Cretin: _Thanks so much! Poor Raven can barely handle one guy. And totally agree with the costumes, though for some reason I think the red and white wouldn't have worked as well in the cartoon as it did in the comics. And yes, we won't really know much until they actually release Raven into the new 52. I just get really...um, finicky? that BB's on a 'team' with Terra right now. And that one of his pictures have him with like...blood dripping out of his mouth. It's like Trigon-Seed Gar or something. But it is interesting, and at least it isn't like Star's premiere. I should stop ranting and just thank you. Thank you!

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: _Good point. Though _Red_ Hood and _Red _X? Ha. Now I'm just looking for reasons. I don't think it's Todd either. And the 1980's joke made me smile so much. And I've seen a picture of Starfire like that before! I'll message you the link if I manage to find it. I have seen one of the TT group getting a Young Justice-style look. That was interesting.

_LobsterMobster95_: I think I'm turning too much into a fangirl...especially with this chapter. Mush just wants to be written sometimes. And you have very good concerns! I'm worried about him too, especially after this chapter. But I love Gar too much to do anything horrible to him in the long run. And thanks for the Red X identity support! I'm worried about potential backlash when I identify him later on in the story.

_Katwizzle: _I can say most definitely that by the end they will be! and thanks for the review :D

_2-shadows_: I think I purposely create scenes where they'll have to be together because Wally and Gar's dynamic is just so much fun. I'm glad you enjoyed it as well! And thanks so much for your review!

Disclaimer: I do not own DC comics or the Teen Titans or the JLA or anything related at all to their multiple universes.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 8: Restless<em>

By the time he got to the new apartment, it was already well into early morning. Gar didn't give the unlocked door a second thought, figuring Vic or Star had left it open for convenience. Sure Gotham was a dangerous town, but this apartment building was heavily guarded with security cameras and doormen. The average thief wouldn't bother getting in, and the expert criminal wouldn't let a locked door stop him. The digital clock on the desk in the living room read 2:45, and he doubted Starfire or Vic were awake. The apartment was equally as nice as Vic's place, but the only thing Gar seemed to notice was the grey leather sofa _(why do people insist on sitting on dead animal?_) and the computer on the ebony colored desk.

Gar turned on the machine immediately and saw the login screen. _Okay now. Guest, Check! And Kory...er...Korian'der...Nope...Kor..._

"Couldn't have had a human ex-girlfriend, could you Rob?" Gar grumbled lowly before finally spelling Starfire's name correctly. "Finally! Success!"

There were two folders on the desktop and that was it. The rest of the computer was completely barren. It seemed even though Nightwing opened up a bit, there were still a lot of secrets he kept under lock and key. And for good reason too for Gar didn't pretend to not be the curious type.

_No, Garfield. Focus. _

He ignored the other folder and opened the one labeled appropriately as "Red X". There were only two documents inside and video footage of a fight that one of the security cameras picked up years ago. Gar double clicked on the file, but it only revealed a prison picture of Red X, still in uniform and his mask. _Jeez, did the guy glue it on? _

Finding that extremely unhelpful, Gar opened the other document as he suppressed a yawn. His green eyes were fading quickly and after that fight, his body was absolutely exhausted. But he kept them open and somewhat alert as he looked at the next file. It was a basic sheet, filled with some information Nightwing had managed to scrounge up years ago. And none of it was exactly helpful. It was mostly all basic things: estimated height, weight, gender, race (unknown). There was a short description of his fighting style, and Gar made himself read it closely.

_Assorted use of tactical weaponry which he uses from a sort utility belt. All of his weapons seem to be X themed. Highly adept at multiple forms of martial arts. Complacent with being a thief but not a high threat._

"All true. And all useless. This detective stuff is a lot of work." Gar looked to the clock again and gave a deep yawn when he saw it go closer and closer to 3AM. "Maybe this can wait until morning. Yeah...I'll just surprise her then." He stretched from the chair and then stood.

Taking in the apartment fully, Gar noticed a hallway extend from the living room leading to a nice sized kitchen with a bar and stools, a bathroom, and three other rooms. Two of the doors to the rooms were closed, but there was still one left wide open. "Sweet." Gar pushed it a little more and immediately peeled off his uniform. He was too tired to shower, and besides, all his stuff was still back in Metropolis. _I'll have to pick it up tomorrow. Actually, I'll probably have to ask Raven to pick it up tomorrow._

He flipped the light switch on, happy to see that the room was simply furnished with a full bed and lots of pillows. The black and purple uniform was already halfway down his muscular frame before he sat on the bed. Gar pulled off his shoes and threw them causally on the cherry wood floors. He then removed his gloves and frowned. His nails had managed to cut through the tips, but no matter. The clothing disappeared whenever he transformed.

_Gloves, shoes, and last but not least..._

Gar managed to slide the remainder of his costume down his calves and off his ankles. "Make sure the boxers are up and we're good to go..." He fell back on the bed, grumbled, and then crawled back up to turn off the light before rolling back to sleep again.

* * *

><p>She was exhausted. Her head pounded, and she knew her emotions were probably really upset with her. Time always passed differently while she was inside her own head. Raven teleported to the hallway outside the apartment door, momentarily taking in the expensive looking building before knocking softly. She knew it was late, but the door should be locked and...<p>

The door opened easily from the light pressure of her fists and Raven grunted. "That's safe."

She immediately tuned in her empathy but felt no malicious thoughts. The living room appeared to be in one piece as well, but Raven closed and locked the door just in case. Her empathy became silent again as she only sensed calmed thoughts, thoughts of those who were asleep.

Her headache was all consuming, and Raven moved to her duffel on the floor quickly before retreating to the bathroom, pajamas in hand. The steam from the shower helped marginally, but it was still hurting a lot. _I just need to sleep._

But instead, her mind was thinking of a game plan. They had failed at catching Red X. The Regenerative Egg was out there missing, given to who knows who. But whoever they were, they were strong enough to take out Wally, which worried her immensely. They were also resourceful enough to hire Red X to do all the dirty work for them. She'd work with Vic to figure this out. They were usually a good team back in their Titans days, but it would be hard balancing their mission with keeping Starfire upbeat. She knew who the Tamaranean really needed but Raven somewhat doubted he would ever show though.

Only one door was open, and Raven blindly went into the dark room, the curtains drowning out any bit of city light. Within the darkness, she managed to find the bed and crawl in as she tugged on the top of her black shorts.

_Finally. _She closed her eyes and sighed, pushing her head deeper and deeper into the pillow. Wet hair tangled around her head, but she didn't mind. On missions, she would have to sleep in much worse conditions. _This is so nic-_

The breathing next to her made her heart jump and she immediately skidded up so that her back was resting against the wooden headboard. _Please, let it be Starfire. _

She blinked so that her purple eyes would adjust to the darkness and saw the patch of ruffled hair on the pillow to her right. It wasn't long enough to be Star's, and Vic shaved the one half of his head that was able to produce hair. _Which means this is..._

Raven shivered and felt her heart pulse. She could feel his body heat and hear the constant rhythm of his chest beat against the comforter. Up, down. Up, down-like a constant drum. She watched his body toss to his back, his mouth hung slightly open so that she saw his white fangs.

The sheets were sliding down as he moved. Soon, even in the dark, his green skin peaked from the under the beige sheets, his muscles and stomach outlined by the dark shadows. He fidgeted slightly, eyes still closed, and Raven felt as if she were watching a dog instead of a human. She couldn't help but smile and stare at him closer-the weirdly green scruff on his face, the contours of neck leading down to his chest, his abs and...

Gar kept on shifting, and the thin sheets inched lower and lower until they hovered right over his boxers and well defined hip bones. His skin, she had pictured it to be different. Not that she had never seen him shirtless before; the Titans had gone to the beach once or twice much to her chagrin. But even in the bright sunlight, she hadn't noticed all the scars scattered across his frame, jagged marks on an otherwise smooth canvas. Raven flinched at the sudden urge to want to touch them, to lean over and feel the raised marks across her fingertips, the scars of all the battles they had fought and won together.

It was suddenly getting hot under the sheets, and Raven turned to get up, creaking on the bed as soon as she sat on its side. But that was a mistake, for the green man rubbed his eyes and yawned in such a way that made Raven's breathing heighten. _He's waking up...I can't believe you didn't sense him! How distracted are you?_

She could sneak out now. Raven tried to stand from the bed, but his voice anchored her down. "...Raven?"

Her head turned around slowly to face him, and she tried to focus on her breathing. Nice, deep breaths. But she could still feel the heat on her face, even more so when the changeling sat up and swept a hand through his dark green hair. She shook her head to steady herself, but her headache was killing her. "Gar, I didn't know you were..."

"Am I dreaming?" He rubbed his eyes again and went to reach for her hand, and Raven suddenly felt extremely self conscious. Gar was barely dressed, his boxers covering just about the one thing that needed to be covered, and her own pajamas-shorts and a tank top- didn't really leave too much to the imagination. Not like her leotard or her jumpsuit did normally, but there was something about being in a bed that made this seem a little intimate.

_Not a little. _Raven edged back. "I'm sorry. I must have been tired."

"So then," Gar smiled and straightened himself on his hands, stretching his arms. "Not a dream?"

"This is really inappropriate especially after..." Raven hesitated.

"After what?" The glint in his green eyes was obvious in the dark. He was daring her to say it, to admit what had happened those years ago. But she wouldn't. Gar bit his lip and removed the sheets completely from his body, practically stumbling out of the bed. "Forget it. I'll go sleep on the couch."

She jumped up before he could walk to the other side by the door, "No, I'll go. You were here first."

"Don't be ridiculous, Raven."

She stared him down, "Gar, the couch is leather."

"Oh." His eyes dropped, hovering over her body for a moment before he crossed his arms, "Well...there's always the floor."

"Stop it." She moved in front of the door and blocked his path. "Stay in the bed. I don't care that the couch is leather."

"They couldn't exactly call me Beast Man if I let you do that. Wouldn't exactly be very manly of me at all."

"Garfield." Her voice fell, "No one calls you that."

He shrugged, "And they never will if I let you sleep on the couch."

A thought crossed her mind, and Raven walked forward. She saw Gar take a step back, obviously surprised by her actions, and she didn't blame him. She was too. They were only a foot or two away from each other and if she took another step forward, their noses would practically touch. Her spine quivered as he breathed. "Fine. Then get passed me."

"That'd be easy, Rave, if you moved out of my way."

"You can be a mouse. Or a fly. Anything." Raven raised an eyebrow and took a step forward, almost to the point when their chests were touching, "So why don't you get passed me right now?"

He inhaled deeply, the sight even more obvious because he was shirtless. Gar let his fang hang out and ran another hand through his hair. His eyes glanced away from her before he looked back up to Raven timidly, "This is about what happened earlier, isn't it?"

"Of course it is," Raven said flatly.

"Would you give me a free pass tonight?" He turned around, not wanting to look at her. "I...I have a lot on my mind right now."

"Sometimes it's best to talk about it, Gar."

He sighed and said in a low, soft voice, "Maybe."

She didn't dare turn on her empathy for just seeing him put enough ache into her chest. "Let me sleep on the couch."

Gar turned, "What?"

"I'll let you slide. You let me sleep on the couch. It'll just be for tonight. Not even. Just another 5 hours. Tomorrow I can share a room with Starfire."

He seemed torn for a second, but that soon passed and Gar gave her a faint smile, "Thanks, Raven."

"Don't thank me. You're telling me eventually."

"When I'm ready."

"Probably before that," She conceded and then looked back up to him. She had seen his black and purple uniform on the floor, reminding her that he was very, very undressed. Her cheeks kept burning and it was hard to focus on his eyes. "...Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Raven." His growing smile dragged her attention down. "Sleep tight."

"Gar..."

"Say hi to Mark for me."

She rolled her eyes and finally made her way back to the living room. The couch was uncomfortable, sticky with the perspiration that somehow managed to reform on her skin. There was a throw blanket and some stylistic pillows on the ends, but she didn't move to grab them. Her heart was running, too fast for her to even think about sleep. She had to admit, she was a little sad that Gar took the easy way out-not because she wanted the bed, that didn't matter. But because she was really worried about him, more than even she could ever think. Her thoughts, which should have been focused on Starfire or her mission or the horrible atrocity that occurred on Tamaran, were using tunnel vision. She could only think of Beast Boy. Of how the Beast Boy she knew hadn't seemed so burdened since Terra died. Or how the Beast Boy she knew would jump at the chance to talk to her. Or how if they had been in the same position two years ago he would have kissed her again.

Raven exhaled deeply and grabbed the pillow from the end of the couch. She closed her eyes; the headache was all too unbearable now. With soft, tiny breaths, Raven slowly repeated her mantra until she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>That had been the absolute, positively most horrific sleep in his entire life. Forget that time he slept in a pie inside a giant oven with four other people. Forget when he had woken up on the floor after tearing his sheets to shreds (though that had actually been sort of nice). Last night had been the absolute <em>worst<em>, and it was even more horrible when he attempted to get up early to try and look at the files again.

The whole apartment had still been asleep. Not that it would have bothered him normally, but Raven was curled on the leather couch, no blanket covering her rather short shorts and tank top. There was no barrier between her and him just going over there and moving the hair back from her face or pulling her shirt down so she would stop shivering gently in the new morning air. But Gar, being terrified of the prospect of Raven waking up at all, simply ignored her and turned to the computer, glad he had only signed out and not turned the thing off.

He didn't put the desk light on, and he even tried to move the monitor away from the direction of Raven's sleeping form so that the blue light wouldn't wake her. Gar maneuvered the mouse to the volume button and put the thing on mute before he clicked on the video Nightwing had placed in the file.

It was one of their later fights, and, to be honest, it didn't seem all that spectacular. It was mostly a one- on-one between the former Boy Wonder and Red X, both fighters using utility belts and acrobatics and martial arts. Gar twitched a bit when he saw Robin fall into a split. _He's way too flexible._

There was a pad and pen next to the computer on the desk, and Gar grabbed it to start his planning. He had promised Nightwing something irrational, and thinking that most of his ideas usually were, he went back to his original draft of Red X's identities.

_Evil Clone._

_Larry._

_New/Old Robin._

_Long lost brother of Nightwing._

_Future version of Nightwing._

_Evil Bionic Monkey..._

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the list and then turned back as he heard Raven move on the couch. _Think Logan, think. The thing basically connecting all of these together is that Red X fights like Robin did. ...Er, or how Nightwing does. New-old Robin is dead. New-new Robin was barely out of diapers when Red X first appeared. I'm pretty sure Nightwing is an only child, and Larry is way too short. Clones and monkeys could be it, but it's not exactly the best theory..._

Gar sighed and stretched out the corners of his eyes, trying to concentrate. The main clue was clear: Red X fights like Robin. _Like. _The changeling grinned. _Which doesn't necessarily mean it is Robin in any crazy long lost brother form. _

He drew a line on the paper and thought again, this time even harder. And even with this new direction, Gar could only come up with two other people that could fight and keep up with the Boy Wonder in his own style back then.

_Batman._

_Slade._

And only one of those seemed actually reasonable.

From the stories he heard, Batman didn't seem entirely...there, but the one thing the guy was is a hero. Plain and simple. There was no way he would be a petty thief. Especially when Red X's usual haunt was 3000 miles away from Gotham. That would be a little hard to balance, even for the Dark Knight.

But then again, the same thing was true for Slade. He was what Gar considered to be a 'big' criminal-the ones that made him sweat, that pumped energy and fear simultaneously through his system in a fight. The theory of Slade being dead and gone wasn't an issue. He knew that Terra's sacrifice hadn't been enough to stop the bastard. And even now the thought made his skin crawl with dissatisfaction. He remembered that scared little boy standing as the world was crumbling around him, consumed with lava. He remembered his heart breaking when he saw her fade under rock and stone, pummeled because of her own self-sacrifice. _She could have left with us. She could have been a Titan again. _ It wouldn't have made a difference. Terra martyred herself for nothing. Her death was meaningless.

_If she's even dead at all. _That thought burned.

The student at Murakami was a little coincidental, and then what Slade had said to him later that day...that she didn't want to remember him, it could have just been baiting but it also could have been the truth. Gar growled lightly, and then froze, remembering Raven was still in the room. That was a path he hadn't allowed himself to go down for a while now, and he didn't mean to think about her again. _Red X. Focus on Red X._

It made sense-sort of. Gar knew that there was a lot that didn't. Slade never lowered himself to petty crime, but he had broken in to the Tower once. Who said he couldn't figure out a way again? Slade knew about the Red X costume and where to get it. Nightwing had used the thing originally to get close to him. Maybe taking and using it was a good way to rub it in the former Boy Wonder's face.

He underlined the name on the pad of paper and stretched on the chair. Gar hated waking up this early. It was 6 AM. The sun hadn't even risen over the sky, but that was what he was counting on. After all, he needed to figure out some semblance of a plan before he left.

Gar cracked his shoulder and looked back to the empath on the couch. She was curled so tightly, body moving so sparingly that he could barely tell that she was shivering. He ignored that for a second, realizing he still didn't have any real clothes on and went back into the bedroom.

When he came back out, uniform, belt, and communicator in tow, he moved over to the girl slowly. This was a crazy thought-stupid even, but the changeling never claimed to be smart. Gar whispered under his breath, "Please don't wake up."

Quietly and with as much dexterity as he could muster, Gar leaned over and edged his arms under her shoulders and the bend of her knees. He brought Raven slowly up to his chest and smiled. Her head fell delicately onto his shoulder, breath sighing from the sudden contact with body heat. Gar felt his heart pulse and bang against his frame, but he kept moving when he had a good hold of her body.

She was light enough to carry all the way to the bedroom, and soon, Gar was reluctantly placing her onto the bed. He made sure her purple hair was on the pillow, that if she rolled she wouldn't fall or get tangled in the sheets. Gar grabbed the comforter from the edge of the bed and covered her. Raven moved, settling into the new space, but still didn't open her eyes.

"Glad you're a heavy sleeper." Gar moved softly from the room and saw Raven's duffel bag on the living room floor. "One more thing." He grabbed the lion from the bag and placed it next to her on the bed, hoping she wouldn't hate him when she woke up in a few hours. When he was out in the hall, Gar placed a hand on his ear and there was an immediate buzz.

"This is Batman. State your emergency."

"Oh! Um..." Gar scrambled. He should have waited to call the JLA; his brain was still a mess-still concentrating on Raven's body held flushed against his own. "Hey Batman! It's G-Beat Boy."

There was a pause, some clicks, and finally a low grunt. "I am fully aware of who is contacting me. Do you need a team in your vicinity?"

"Nope, uh, none of that."

Gar swore he could hear Batman sigh, "Then what is it? Beast Boy, you do realize this line is only for emergencies."

"This is an emergency. I need a...uh, emergency transport."

"Teleportation?"

"Exactly."

"And Raven is unavailable?"

Gar nodded despite the fact that Batman could not see him. "Yes. Is it possible to be sent back to Jump City from my current location?"

"Hmph. Of course. You can access one in the service closet to the left. 0321"

The line was cut dead, and Gar turned off his ear piece. "It doesn't burn. It doesn't burn." He didn't question that the JLA had the foresight to keep teleporters near their safe houses. The device seemed to be a superhero necessity in this day and age. Gar turned the knob to the service closet, but found the door to be locked. It was then he noticed the keypad above the lock and plugged in the four numbers Batman had said before. _0321._

There was a green light and a click, and soon Gar was entering, not a service closet, but a room with a small circular platform and computer monitor. "Alright. I can use technology without breaking it."He inhaled slowly and approached the computer screen. It seemed simple enough to use. The monitor was a touch screen, and since Gar had no idea what the actual longitude and latitude were, he ended up plugging in the vague location of Jump City and hoped for the best.

* * *

><p>Raven was surprised to find that when she woke up, her body was stretched languidly across a soft surface. It was definitely too big and comfortable to be the leather couch, and when her purple eyes finally readjusted from the peaking sunlight, she discovered that she wasn't on a couch at all. She was back in the bedroom in the bed where Gar was supposed to be.<p>

The surprise had her jump up and look to her left, only to see that there was no sign of the changeling beside her. Raven bit her lip at her uneasiness and grabbed the lion in front of her. She smoothed her hair back and sighed, "He didn't."

But there was no intimation that Gar had been in the room at all. His clothes were gone, as was his belt and shoes, and Raven had a sick feeling in her stomach that he actually had slept on dried out cow skin for her. "Stubborn idiot." Raven didn't really have any reason to be angry; the action was actually sort of _nice_, but she felt guilty.

Forgetting that she was still in shorts and a tank top, Raven entered the common area of the apartment only to be approached by Starfire carrying a covered tray. "Friend Raven, I am unaware if you have used your abilities to combat the sadness, but for some reason I am feeling most happy this morning. Perhaps it is just the company of old friends?"

"Um." Raven blinked. Her brain didn't really function 70 seconds after she woke up. "Sure?"

"And because of my happiness, I have decided to surprise you and Cyborg and Beast Boy with..." Starfire placed her hand on the lid, and Raven cringed. She really wasn't in the mood for any weirdly colored puddings or types of meat that she couldn't identify let alone pronounce. "...the waffles!"

Raven narrowed an eye and leaned over to the uncovered dish. And Starfire was right. They were just waffles. Golden brown, extremely delicious waffles. "Thanks, Star."

"It is not a burden. I have also bought the..." She made a disgusted, questionable face. "...soy eggs for Beast Boy, but I have not seen him."

Cyborg turned around from the couch at the mention of Beast Boy's name. In his hands was already a plate with a stack of waffles and syrup. "He wasn't in there with you, Raven?"

Raven once again thanked the monks of Azarath for her training. She could only hope her face wasn't getting red. "No."

For some reason, Cyborg seemed genuinely surprised and worried. Raven fed off his feelings. The couch where she had been asleep was unoccupied by the green changeling. The bathroom door was open with no sign of anyone inside, and normally she would at least be able to hear him thrashing throughout. "Garfield?" Raven looked back into the bedroom where she was before and saw his communicator was absent. She went back to the living room where Vic and Starfire looked at her, a little shocked. "Someone call him."

"Raven?"

"All his stuff is gone. He...he never wakes up this early unless it's to watch TV." She gestured to the flat screen hanging on the wall. It was turned off. "Something's wrong."

"Raven, he could just have gone to the store or something." Vic set his waffle plate down on the coffee table. "Everything alright?"

Her purple eyes wavered from her friends to the desk, seeing that the computer was for some reason on but asleep. She walked over, fully intending to just turn it off, but saw the notepad resting by its side. The handwriting was awful-boxy and childish-and she immediately felt a rush of panic when she saw the underlined name. "No..." She picked up the pad. "Not even close."

* * *

><p>AN:

More filler than anything, but this chapter needed to happen. Happy Memorial Day! And remember to leave a quick message!


	11. Open Wounds

A/N:

My reviewers and readers are wonderful. That is all:

_Katwizzle_: I will make it up to you when they do! Promise, promise!

_Amazing girl_: Thanks for your review back in chapter 2! She was right, wasn't she? It was too fast.

_Ese Cabron: _I could never picture the Beast being too vocal. At least not coherently vocal. And thanks so much for the review :)

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne:_ Don't we all? As long as other people can't use use it as a way in. And that would have been hilarious. I bet he would try that too if he could somehow transform into a mini lion.

_Miss Topaz_: Aw, thanks so much! I'm really happy to see that you're enjoying so much of it! And yeah...BB...I am unnecessarily mean to him. And I do apologize for it. I may have a complex of being awful to the characters I love.

_The Cretin: _Yeah, filler is necessary even though I feel horrible for posting it and calling it chapter, so thanks for that! And I'm glad you're liking Gar's maturity. It was a little hard for me to determine his balance of like...goofball/young adult. I like where he's at though. As for Red X...I won't say anything yet, obviously, but it may or may not get more obvious after this chapter. And thank you so much for writing exactly what I was thinking when it came to Gar's knew character. I think that's what's bothering me-that they're taking away all of his past progression. And the resurrecting an old ship is just...scary to me. I don't like Terra. I didn't like her in the comics for obvious reasons and in the cartoon I disliked her too. Though that may have been my hatred for her in the comics boiling over. But she was important for development reasons, and I love her story arc so...maybe it's better to say I have a complicated relationship with Terra. I hate her but am so happy she existed. Which makes the Ravagers thing even more confusing. I will also cut this short so my A/N is not disgustingly long. And comic ranting is fun! Thanks! 

_MelonLord28: _Thanks for your two reviews! I love them too, and ...you may be repeating the same sentiment concerning BB after this chapter. Don't hate me.

_itachi girl88: _Glad to hear it :)

_LobsterMobster95: _That's good that I don't have to worry about going fangirl anymore, for I think I have officially jumped off the deep end in fangirly-ness. And oh no! I don't mean to ruin other TT fics for you, yet that was a very nice compliment, so thank you! It sort of reminds me of when I watch YJ and am extremely dissatisfied by the lack of the TT cast...but anyway. Damian Wayne? That's an interesting guess! And I will say no more about it. Haha. I feel slightly evil, but I'm glad to hear that you're doing your own investigation! I bet Gar could use your help. And thank you. I hope you had a nice Memorial Weekend as well, and I will continue to feed your addiction.

Disclaimer: TT not mine. Don't sue.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 7: Open Wounds<em>

The halls were too small and dark. The walls were too cold and impersonal. It was nothing at all like where he had run his team, though he admitted that team was for a bunch of teenagers on a much smaller scale. But that still didn't change his mind from disliking this place. He had been offered a spot, practically begged to join by some, but Nightwing always refused. He had tried to go solo once before only to be dragged back into a team, and he wasn't about to do the same thing again.

_I work with Batman, not for. I don't need a different boss to answer to._

He padded through the hallway, and people stopped to try and get his attention, but Nightwing gave them only cursory glances and slight waves. He was focused, and most knew how he operated whenever he was focused on something.

It was early morning back in Gotham, and Nightwing had no trouble leaving the police force in charge for a couple of hours. Barbara had gone home and back to bed. Tim needed some shut eye to be ready for his math test at school. And, as was the norm nowadays, Batman was up in space or across the country or around the globe. Somewhere that wasn't home.

Nightwing entered the briefing room with his arms still crossed. He recognized the black cowl immediately and let his arms fall to the side. At least he knew how to approach his adoptive father. "Batman."

There were other heroes around, and he wasn't sure how generous Bruce Wayne was feeling about his identity. "Nightwing, I expected you to come here to find me."

"Not necessarily you, but I'm glad I did." Nightwing looked at the control panel Batman was currently typing on. "Something wrong?"

"No. Your former teammate just asked for a teleportation pass."

Nightwing wasn't too surprised. Raven was almost as dedicated as he was sometimes. Though it was weird that the half-demon would need a teleportation machine. She must have been trying to conserve energy. "Can we talk somewhere more private?"

Batman turned back to the several monitors in his direction. "I'm currently on duty here. If you wish to discuss something with me, just say it."

_Right. Direct. _Nightwing pressed the mask on the bridge of his nose. "I want to help Starfire."

"Princess Koriand'r?" Batman sighed, "That's it?"

"What do you mean 'that's it'?" Helping Starfire reconstruct her home barely seemed like a simple task.

Batman didn't turn from the screen and grunted, "You don't want to marry her?"

"That can't be considering helping?"

Batman actually turned at that, and Nightwing smiled. _Good. Now I finally have his attention. _"What do you want, Nightwing? Exactly?"

Even he wasn't sure of that. It wasn't like he could go in space and rebuild a planet from scratch. He couldn't go back in time and prevent from whatever happening from happening. And even if he could (time travel was possible sometimes), he would never be given the clearance to do so. "I want an update on the status of the Tamaraneans."

Batman clicked on a couple of screens and pulled up a spreadsheet of names and various types of information. Nightwing leaned over on the desk and breathed, taking in the names on the list. There were only about twenty or so, some male and some female. But that was it. Twenty or so Tamaraneans left in the whole universe. "That's it?"

"Count how many Kryptonians are left in the universe and you'll feel less bad."

Nightwing understood his mentor's point, but it didn't make him feel any better about it. "Perspective."

"Yes. They are currently here in the Watchtower with the exception of your princess." Batman closed the file. "Anything else? Or should you be heading back to Gotham now?"

He read that as a command more than anything else, but Nightwing ignored it. "What's the Justice League's current plan?"

"Martian Manhunter is currently heading the process of relocation. We're running tests of their environmental capacities in order to find them a suitable, permanent planet."

For some reason, the thought of sending them all away, although expected, made him slightly angry. Nightwing leaned on the computer's base as Batman kept typing on the desk. "And he's doing a good job?"

"As best he can."

"Princess Koriand'r never had a problem with the Earth's environment. It may be easier for J'onn to find a planet if he follows an environment he's more familiar with."

Batman nodded, "Maybe."

"And they are a peaceful race. Perhaps cohabitation with an existing alien species is also an option."

"Dick."

Nightwing fidgeted at his real name. He glanced around under his mask, but no other superheroes seemed to be interested in the two's conversation. "What is it?"

"I still need someone to look for the cause of the explosion." Batman seemed impassive, but as he turned around, Nightwing saw the small, practically microscopic grin on his face. "Would you mind if I assign this to you?"

"...Batman..."

"I'm too busy to work on that mission. It'll be hard, but the Justice League could really use your help."

Nightwing nodded fervently. "Yes, yes of course."

"Excellent. J'onn's on the 10th floor. Conference Room number 5. I expect nothing but the best from you, Nightwing."

"I'll report there immediately." Nightwing moved away from the central console where Batman was seated and turned. "And thanks."

His adoptive father made no motion that he had heard him, but Nightwing moved on anyway. The hall echoed as his black boots treaded across the metal flooring, and he found it okay t o sigh. Maybe this wouldn't fix everything or anything at all, but at least he was doing something. At least he was helping Starfire in any way he could.

* * *

><p>He had thirty minutes before it would even open-thirty minutes, and he still felt like such a mess. He supposed it was that which drove him back here. That or his own masochistic curiosity.<p>

Gar shuddered. _I am a masochist, aren't I?_

At least, he thought that was the appropriate term for it. That was the word that meant self destructive, right? The word that described people that put themselves into situations that would bring up pain, who found some sick form of amusement in never, ever having things work out simply and cleanly. It had to be true. There was no other reason why he would fall for Raven of all people, his teammate and one of his best friends. It was also one of the reasons why he came back here.

The Tower was colossal; he didn't think he ever really realized that before. It was shiny and tall and sprung up so many memories inside his gut that Gar felt like turning around immediately when he saw it.

He walked to and outer wall by the shoreline of the city, across the water from where Titans Tower stood. Cyborg had built a tunnel here when they were all still a team for the T-car and R-cycle. Gar had used it several times too when he hadn't felt like swimming or flying. And because of his recent lack of success with transforming, he decided to not chance it and walk the way there.

The tunnel had minimal lighting, but Gar quickly ran through, not staying too long in the dark. The pathway fed right into the Titans' garage, and after a few DNA scans and several numerical codes, Gar was met with a big empty room. The space felt weird without the T-Car or Robin's bike or even his moped (which he had managed to afford one day only to crash it one week later). And the whole place seemed extremely...ghostly.

Gar walked up the stairs from the garage and found himself by the laundry room. He stripped completely-the Tower being completely empty- and was surprised to see that the washing machine was still hooked up and functional. In fact, everything seemed to be exactly how they had left it-minus any personal belongings. He kept his communicator on hand and found the first floor bathroom easily. There wasn't any soap or shampoo, but Gar didn't really care. Just rinsing himself off after that fight would have been enough.

He remembered in Africa when they didn't have running water or that time when they had hunted the Brotherhood of Evil nonstop. Raven used to complain how he had smelled like all of his animal forms combined, but it wasn't as if she were much better. Not that he would ever comment on that. He liked being in this dimension.

Gar scrubbed his dark green hair fervently, trying not to let his thoughts run. This whole scenario was going to be too much. He didn't know when, but a part of him knew he may have been going over his head. _Don't be stupid. Call for backup if you need it. _ He wasn't like Mento or the old Robin. He wasn't afraid to admit when he needed help. Right?

But he also wanted to try and do this on his own. No matter how crazy this whole idea was. _Don't let the past get to you. _ He closed his eyes as the shower started to hit his face. _Don't let it scare you away. You know what happened. You know what you saw. This is the only way to get to Slade._

Maybe Slade wasn't involved with Red X at all, but there was a chance he was. And Gar was going to take any lead he could find. After scrubbing his body down with only shower water, Gar turned the faucet off and shook his body dry. His hair was up, spiked without any gel, and he stepped out of the shower and let the steam inside the room pervade over his green skin.

He rubbed his hand against the fogged up mirror and sighed. He looked tired-which was no surprise considering the sleepless night he had. The dark circles highlighting his green pupils seemed to make his face look even thinner, his cheekbones more pronounced. Gar rubbed his eyes and touched the scars on his chest before cringing when he heard the door to the bathroom open. _...Crap._

"And here we have another..." It was a redheaded lady, dressed in a grey skirt and white blouse, leading a group of foreign looking tourists. The redhead's mouth dropped and she froze in the doorway, only managing to mutter a "bathroom..." before completely shutting down.

"Er..." Gar grabbed the floral patterned shower curtain, ripping it from its holders, and wrapped it around his waist. _Crap! I totally forgot this place was like a museum now! _ His face turned to a bizarre shade of purple, the red in his face taking over his cheeks. "I see you're getting the full tour."

The tourists said nothing, and one little old lady managed to flash out a camera before Gar maneuvered around them. "May want to avoid the laundry room for a minute, okay?"

The redheaded tour guide nodded, "...yes...Beast...Boy."

"And um, have a good day! Titans out!" He gave a weak laugh before slapping himself in the face. _Man, that was too embarrassing. First Raven, now tourists? When are you going to learn how to _lock_ doors? _ He opened the door to the laundry room and somehow managed to lock it. _Then again, waking up with Raven next to you wasn't exactly awful. _ He dropped the shower curtain and moved his uniform and underwear into the dryer. It was a weird material, drying easily to compensate for his aquatic forms. _Actually, it wasn't awful at all. Though it looked like she wanted to die right there and then. _

He set the dryer for five minutes and waited. _Then again, she must have felt something for me once, right? _ Gar crossed his arms, feeling a bit chilly. He hated feeling cold. _ I mean...she did kiss me back that night, didn't she? Yeah, she wasn't completely there but...maybe, I don't know. Maybe there's a chance. _

At least he thought there might have been if it weren't for all the stuff going on. But perhaps after all this, if she weren't really with the Flash, something might happen. Gar was open enough. He was free to do whatever...

The dryer stopped working, and Gar suddenly froze. "...Jillian. Oh crap. How could I forget?"

It was like the superhero life took over, making him forget or simply ignore any shred of normalcy he had over the past two years. Gar looked to his communicator and breathed. "15 minutes. I don't have to be there on time either. I can make a phone call."

He dressed quickly, attaching his belt and pulling back on his shoes and gloves, and moved to the common room. Gar glanced quickly around, "Okay, no tour group," and locked the door using Cyborg's still installed security system. His green eyes looked over the empty couch, the abandoned kitchen, and finally rested on the view of the bay and Jump City behind it. "It's..." He walked causally over to the computer center, but didn't touch the screen yet. _It's so empty._

The memories connected to this place stung his chest, and Gar knew he wouldn't be able to stay in this place much longer. He accessed the computer and brought up the database of people, not in Jump City, but for L.A. _I wonder if the Voice Activation system still works. _ "Call Jillian Jackson."

There was a beep, and then a dial tone and Gar smiled widely. "Cool." His face suddenly turned serious when he heard the other voice on the end.

"Hello?" She sounded confused, which was expected. It was early, and the Titans' number was unlisted. "...Who is this?"

He breathed. He had never done this before, and he doubted he would be any good at this. "Jill? It's...it's Gar."

"Gar?" There was a pause on the line, and Gar felt extremely awkward just standing in front of a computer screen, looking at nothing and waiting for a response. Finally, her voice broke into a yell. "Where are you? Have you been ignoring my calls? I tried calling your phone a hundred times and you never picked up!"

The changeling cringed. He had been ignoring her, even before he had left his phone at Vic's apartment in Metropolis. "Yeah, about that..."

"And what number is this?" More silence. "...Oh. You're...you aren't..."

"Jill?"

"Is the world okay? Is that why you left? Of course! You're on some sort of superhero mission thing, right? Right?"

It'd be easy for him to lie right here, and it wouldn't have even been a full blown lie. He could tell her that he wasn't ignoring her, that the world actually was in danger and he had important superhero mission things to do. _And then just deal with it later? _He looked at the communicator again. _5 minutes until it opens. Just do it. _ This was a heartless thing to do, especially over the phone, but maybe...if she really cared about him enough, he wouldn't end it-not like this at least. If she said yes, he would go to L.A. and do this sort of thing properly, like a man and not a boy. "Do you love me?"

This silence thing was really, really uncomfortable. Jillian coughed over the phone, "Gar, are you alright?"

"No pressure. I mean, this is sort of random I know. But Jill...I just need to find out how much you, uh, like me?"

"Like you?"

"I mean...you do..." There was no answer, and Gar's face was turning a bizarre shade of red-purple again. "Right?"

"Gar...I don't know what to say."

His voice was more confidence this time. "Just say the truth. Do you love me? There's no right or wrong answer, Jill."

"Well...the truth is..." Jill breathed out heavily. "No, Gar. I don't."

He was practically gleaming. "You don't?"

"No. What I mean is, I'm your agent. I'm not even your girlfriend. Sure, we had fun, but wasn't that just...I don't know...fun?"

"Exactly." Gar exhaled. "So you don't mind if we end this then?"

"Mind?" She laughed faintly. "I sort of thought it was already over when you were ignoring me. Are you really on a mission right now by the way?"

"Yeah, I am."

"That's so cool. You won't mind if I told everyone we dated, right? Even though we didn't really?"

Gar laughed, "No, whatever. I'd be flattered." He was about to turn off the call. If he arrived a little later, the place might be too crowded. "Jill...um...one last thing, since our 'break up' went so well, thought I'd drop one more bomb."

"What is it?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm not going back to acting after this." He glanced at the communicator in his hand, the uniform on his skin. "Ever."

"You're firing me then?"

"I guess so."

She snickered, "Can't say I blame you. Have fun, Gar. Visit. Be safe!"

"Thanks, Jill. Bye." He hung up the line and exhaled. _That was pretty easy actually. _ He wish he could say the same for what he was about to do. Though the Tower brought both good and bad memories, mostly good, where he was going had only one of those. And it wasn't good-not by a long shot.

* * *

><p>Nightwing held the test-tube up to the light before placing it back on the rack. He turned to Martian Manhunter, mask still hiding any readable expression. "Is this it?"<p>

"No. But it is the most viable material the League has collected from the rubble. Perhaps you know someone who is better equipped at analyzing organic compounds?"

He felt the stress on his brain already, "Right. I should enlist someone else to help me." Nightwing took a plastic syringe from the side and proceeded to make a wet mount slide. It was pointless, probably. Him analyzing the material's visual appearance would not help him figure out what destroyed Tamaran. _ I need a real scientist. _ And he knew exactly who to ask.

Nightwing moved to the edge of the lab inside the Watchtower and dialed out his communicator. "Cyborg, pick up."

"Vic here...R-Nightwing?" Vic wiped the screen of his own communicator. "What's up?"

"I need your expertise."

"What kind of expertise? My incredible mind or my sonic cannon?"

Nightwing smiled, "The first one. Though maybe a sonic cannon can come in handy eventually. I have some material from the destruction site."

"From Tamaran?"

There was another, female voice that immediately pushed the half-man, half-robot aside. Nightwing felt his muscles freeze when she came onto the screen, green eyes huge and curious. "Tamaran? What news is there, Nightwing?"

"I-I actually just need Cyborg. They have some material from the site that needs analysis. I thought Vic could help."

Starfire didn't give the communicator back to her friend. "I will accompany him."

"Star, that's not really..."

She held up a hand, "If this concerns my planet, I will join. I will not sit here idly."

"Idly?" There was another, slightly more pissed off female voice sounding from the background. "Does no one understand what just happened? Garfield's gone. And he's..." Raven's voice suddenly faded. "...He may need us."

Nightwing's heroic instinct immediately kicked in, "Raven, is Gar okay? What happened?"

"It's nothing." The empath sounded suddenly calm. "Don't worry about it, Nightwing. You have enough on your plate."

He didn't really buy that for a second, but Raven was right. He did have a lot to think about. "So you'll check up on him?"

"Yes. Cyborg and Starfire will join you."

Vic's voice also could be heard off screen, "No more Victor, huh Raven?"

"We're on a mission now, working with the league." Raven paused, "I thought that was appropriate."

"I like it. But what about the Regenerative Egg?"

Starfire looked confused on the screen, "Egg? What is this Egg you speak of?"

"We can work on that later. I have a funny feeling Gar's working on it now."

Vic chuckled, "Don't you mean Beast Boy?"

"Right...Beast Boy."

Nightwing cleared his throat, earning the attention of all three former Titans, "Okay, Star, Cyborg, there's a JLA teleportation device in the service closet next door. Code is 0312."

Starfire blinked, "Nightwing, isn't that your..."

"Raven, go check on Beast Boy. I'm not sure he's as safe as you claim he is. After you find him, work on the Star Labs case. You can locate him via the communicator, and remember to ask for help if you need it."

The purple haired girl smirked, "Those almost sound like orders."

"I have no business ordering anyone around. I'm no longer your leader," Nightwing admitted.

Starfire clasped her hands together, "It is almost like old times again! We will hurry to the Watchtower and begin our missions! See you soon!"

With that, Nightwing shut off the communicator and went back to the slide he had on the lab's counter. He watched Martian Manhunter approach him, but didn't say anything. The Martian spoke, "I will return to the other Tamaraneans now. They are restless and wish to have their own space again."

Nightwing nodded, "Can't blame them."

"Your friend, the Tamaranean, she is much more accustomed to Earth things. Can you suggest anything I can bring her people that they may also enjoy?"

"No..." Nightwing lowered his head, "Well, yes. They like these weird berries. We don't have any on Earth but if you could mix something like a blueberry and vinegar that may have the desired flavor. Oh, and mustard. They love mustard. And flies...and..." Nightwing sighed, "That's it really. I don't really know too much."

The green alien said nothing but gave Nightwing a smile and a pat on the shoulder. _I've got to talk to her._

* * *

><p>Murakami High School was a place he never wanted to return to. It stood there, in the center of Jump City, looking so incredibly ordinary that Gar found the whole thing completely misleading. It was so deceptive.<p>

"You can do this." Gar breathed and took a step, ignoring the people on the city streets around him. They were whispering, something about the return of the Titans, but Gar decided to just look at the building ahead. "One thing at a time."

He went into the school and managed to find the main office easy enough. The secretary at the front desk dropped the phone when he entered, and Gar was extremely grateful he decided to wear his uniform. _Like the green skin wouldn't have been a dead giveaway. _"Hey, I'm Beast Boy."

The young secretary blinked, "You're...you're a Teen Titan."

"Yeah."

"I used to love you guys. Starfire was my favorite. Her outfit was so cool."

Gar forced a smile, "Um, that's nice."

"Weren't you also in Space Trek: 2020?" The woman practically wanted to jump from her seat.

"For a little while, but anyway Ms..." Gar glanced at the nameplate. "Monroe. I'm looking for some information about a former student you may have had here."

Ms. Monroe's face became even more excited, "Is it official Teen Titans business?"

He paused. "Sure, why not."

"Oh! How fun. Do you know her graduating year?"

He didn't really. There was no guarantee that she would have graduated on time with the other students her age. _Worth a shot though. _"It would have been about six years ago."

"So not the exact year..." Ms. Monroe typed on a computer screen. "No matter. We can search an alumni database and limit the graduation time to say...the last 10 years to present. Does that sound good?"

Gar smiled, "Perfect."

"Name?"

"I only have a first name. I don't know how much that will help."

"I can try, Beast Boy. This person must be really important if you're going through all this trouble."

He paused, not really sure how to answer that. "Yeah...she is."

"Name?"

Gar clenched a fist. "Terra."

"Tara? Pretty common name."

"Well it's not sp..."

She entered the name on the computer and a list started to print out a list from the nearby printer. Ms. Monroe rolled over and grabbed the paper from the tray and handed it to the changeling. "23 Tara's matriculated through this school in the past 10 years. I hope this helps with your mission, Beast Boy."

He glanced at the list. None of the Tara's spelled their name to what he was more familiar with. Suddenly Gar felt that this idea was insanely stupid. "Thanks."

The plan was supposed to be this. He didn't want to see Terra ever again. In fact, he didn't even want to have to _think_ about her again. She wasn't a bad person, even though she had tried to kill them all. Gar still couldn't think of her with such a negative light. But he didn't want to see her. He was...almost worried what it would be like. _Every time I see that girl I practically fall all over myself. _

But she was the only connection to Slade he could think of, the only one he was allowed to know about. Jericho was out of the question. There was no way he'd risk revealing that guy's true parentage at the off chance that Slade is connected with Red X.

_So you rather find Terra?_

Sort of, actually. It was this almost biting curiosity; this thought in his mind that the girl in school that day was the Terra he knew. That day may have given him closure, but it wasn't exactly the type of closure he wanted. _I moved on. _ Gar folded the list of names and slipped it under his uniform as he walked out onto the Jump City streets. No, he still didn't want to see her. _Think of all the things after her. Jill...Raven. God, Garfield, think of Raven. _

Terra was gone.

Terra was gone.

Terra was go-

"Who are you looking for?"

That was a new voice. Gar turned around, but saw no one. _Alright. Weird. _ He kept walkingon the now empty streets. Was it just him or did Jump City clear out really fast? He moved his head up and down, and the weird, feminine voice laughed from above.

"What are you looking for? Wouldn't be little old me, would it?"

Gar didn't like the mocking tone. His instincts kicked in, and his body immediately tensed. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Now, now, Beast Boy. That isn't very nice. You're supposed to introduce yourself politely to a lady." A figure moved from the shadows between the buildings, dressed completely in orange and black. His mind did a double take and a triple take at the young woman walking from the alley to his right. She emerged slowly, two swords residing threateningly on her back. Her face curved into a smile, and only one eye flashed from the orange side of her mask. It was eerily familiar, a twisted mix of déjà vu.

Gar supposed this was sort of what he wanted. The last time he had tried to find Terra, Slade appeared out of the woodwork, but...this? His green eyes trailed over the newcomer's skintight uniform-a gender twist of the one he was much more familiar with. "Excuse me?"

"I guess I owe you the same favor."

Gar scratched his head and then gave her a more obvious once over. "Is this why you've been MIA? Too busy getting some...surgical enhancements, huh Slade?"

The young woman growled and drew one of her blades from her back scabbard, and soon, before Gar could even breathe, the metal was flushed with his throat. "Do not belittle my father again, bug."

_Bug?_

Gar smirked. His mind didn't think, but his body moved fluidly, easily and Gar was soon an ant on the floor. He reacted immediately and rolled backwards, changing back into his original form and at a fair distance away from this psychopath."Didn't mean to upset you, really. It's just the outfit and all." He held up his hands and gestured up and down. "Gotta admit, it does look similar to..." It clicked. "Did you say _father?_"

"My name is Ravager." She took out the other sword and looked at him, death clear in her eyes. "And I am here to ask what you were doing in that school."

The changeling ignored the question, instead turning back to the weirdly barren streets. "What happened to everyone?"

"It's funny." Ravager glanced at her swords, and Gar saw the red tainting one of its ends."People get so worried over one little thing. Just one person, really. Insignificant. And they all run like animals. But you must understand that."

His blood rushed, fumed. He had forgotten what real evil was like and how little they cared about anything except for some distorted mission. Gar wanted to punch her or change into a leopard, but overwhelming anxiety kept him planted. "You're psychotic."

"I didn't want an interruption. And you should thank me. I can't hold anyone else hostage now, can I?" Her blue eye widened from underneath her mask. "And answer me. What were you doing inside Murakami High School?"

"What is it to you?" Gar grunted. "Have a boyfriend there?"

He bit his tongue as her fist made contact with his cheek, one of the metal swords clanging on the pavement. Blood gushed inside his mouth. It was a mixture of salt and bile, and Gar spit the excess onto the road. _...Not used to that. She can really punch. _

"I don't like to joke," Ravager said simply. "Tell me what you are doing there before I put your head on my mantle. I wonder, if you change now, do you change back when you're dead? A green lion would be very unique."

"If you want a fight, I can give you one." Blood was nothing. Pain was nothing. Gar had experienced threats and violence much worse than this. Plus, he had four inches and a whole animal kingdom on this girl. "Just say when."

"I don't want a fight. I just want an answer."

"Well, same."

Ravager gave a light smile, "And what question could you have for me, Beast Boy?"

"The Regenerative Egg." He watched her reaction, and smiled when he saw her face give the slightest waver. _She has it. _ "Where is it?"

"I don't know..."

"I know you have it. Red X stole it from Star Labs and gave it to you. Tell me where it is."

"No."

"Now we won't get anywhere if you want to work like that." Gar edged back into a fighting stance, "I've faced your father by myself before. I can take you."

Ravager grunted and lowered the swords. "You're right. This won't get either of us anywhere. We can make a deal."

"A deal?" He raised an eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"

She shrugged and completely sheathed the weapons. "Before I knew about my father, I admired you Titans. You worked together seamlessly, got everything done. I especially liked that one girl you had...what was her name?"

Gar answered on instinct, "Raven?"

"The demon girl? Ha, no. Slade almost rants about her as much as Robin. The other one..." Ravager placed a finger lightly on his chin, "I think she may have been your favorite as well."

He looked back at the school, and remembered what Ravager had been questioning, "Terra."

"Yes!" She snapped her fingers from under his head, making him jump. "That's the one! What I wouldn't give for an autograph or just a picture with her. It'd really make my day. I could see myself being _very _generous to whoever could arrange something like that."

Gar sniffed, "Terra's dead."

"Maybe." Ravager shrugged, "Or maybe she's just asleep. Is that your communicator?"

He mimicked her, "Maybe."

"Give it to me."

"You're rather forceful, aren't you?"

"And your mouth is bloody. Want your nose to match?" Ravager smirked as Gar shook his head and handed her the yellow device. "My number. Don't try to track it. You won't be able to. When you find Terra, call me and we can have our trade."

He took the device back from her and placed it on his belt. There was a foreboding undertone to Ravager's words. She was Slade's daughter. His _daughter_. There was no way he could trust her. _You trust Jericho, don't you? _But then again, Jericho didn't wear a matching Deathstroke uniform. "It's not exactly Titan style to negotiate with villains."

"And it's not really mine to leave heroes standing." She seemed to think about it for a second, and Gar watched as she sprung a sword from its holder again.

His bones wouldn't move again. As the panic set in, he felt his body freeze, his mind go numb.

_Transform! You have to transform! Why can't-_ Soon, the only tissue that was changing was his lower abdomen, the mouth of the blade being fed deep into his green skin. He fell immediately, sword now removed, and clung to the hole in his chest. Red blood seeped through the crevices of his hands, and the black and orange figure disappeared onto the rooftops.

Gar curled onto his side. _Breathe...steady breaths. Damn it, this hurts._

Though it was getting harder and harder to even think straight. The warm liquid kept flowing, and he could taste copper inside his mouth. As his vision began to get fuzzy and weak, he swore he heard a voice, screaming, "Come back here! Slade, come back!" but it was probably just an illusion. Same with the footsteps approaching his body, running across the asphalt, and the cold hand touching his chest, which felt on fire with shock and injury. This was all a dream-a passing mirage before he eventually blacked out.

* * *

><p>AN:

Note: (just to be redundant) I am ignoring the Teen Titans Go comic that has Ravager in it. In fact, I am ignoring all of the ones I have never read, which is probably most of them.

I also apologize for the lack of Raven in this one. Oh and that ending. Though not really since everything has a purpose at some point (I swear!).

Thanks for reading!


	12. Face the Past

A/N:

I actually have a note! I started working in the city on Monday and between interning and the commute I am exhausted more than 95% of the time I'm awake. Fun. Which means in order to maintain quality, I'll have to lower my output of writing. I wish I could write more at work but I think my coworkers might ask who Beast Boy is and then there's a whole lot of explaining...

Anyway, I will most likely update once a week-maybe more depending on time and such. Thank you all!

Bad news over. Good news is I have wonderful reviewers! And readers! I love them! :

_MelonLord28_: Oh I am. I promise to make it up to BB one day

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: _Jillian was his first girlfriend! Though not his agent. And doubt she'll be happy when she sees her again...

_Katwizzle_: If I heal Beast Boy does that make up for it?

_The Cretin: _My lips are sealed on Rex X. I'm glad you liked Jill's inclusion. Was slightly worried readers might dislike anyone I pair BB with, even if it is temporary. And to be honest, I never knew so many people would care so much about the powers thing! But I suppose it is a big deal for our favorite green hero. I can handle a sibling-type bond even though I dislike her immensely. Is it bad that I respect the fact that it's a new universe but I want the characters to develop in the same way...just more if possible? Does that even make sense? Oh well.

_Shadowmeld13: _I'm glad you noticed the ant thing! That's something important to catch on to, and the reasoning will make sense eventually, I swear! But him being allowed to change then was on purpose. As for the actual question, can't answer that yet!

_Heroc_: Thanks so much! I enjoy writing the social interactions more...so maybe that's why there's a lack of fight scenes. Hm. oh well. And I think there's a waiting list of people who want to strangle Flash. I'm giving BB first dibbs.

_Playsintherainicorn_: I hope you didn't wait too long! And thanks so much!

_Miss Topaz: _I'm glad you liked Jill! And maybe she'll come back. Not so sure. And as for Rose...well...it's nothing good. I think I'm mean to him again in this one. I have to stop.

_Deathrow609: _Thanks so much! I'm glad you could catch up and hope you enjoy this one as well!

_LobsterMobster95: _I hope mystery makes it fun! Ha. Batman is probably my favorite as well. I have too much history with that guy not to absolutely adore him despite his craziness, and I'm SO HAPPY you think I did him justice. He's a toughie. I can promise one of those things in your last paragraph...though you'll have to see which one.

_Dancing Eyes: _Your request is my command! Er-wish. Well, you'll see. And I'm glad you're liking the plot. It's shaping up slowly, but I swear eventually it'll be full-blown out crazy.

Thanks again :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 10: Face the Past<em>

Starfire didn't feel offended when Nightwing gave Cyborg a grand smile, a pat on the back, and even a hug. She expected it, really, for him to do the ignoring when she was around. He had reacted to her return weirdly enough, and although she just wished that they could forget all the past history and just be normal friends, she knew that wasn't possible. And to be honest, both of them had more important things to deal with.

Cyborg was dazzled by the Watchtower's labs, and he practically pushed Nightwing aside to get to whatever was being examined under a small microscope. The half-robotic man glanced over to the man in black, "Got an electron microscope in this place?"

"We should...I think. See anything?"

Starfire leaned over Cyborg's shoulder, "Is that the material you have collected from Tamaran?" It was weird, pink, and gooey. The substance seemed to ooze and pulse underneath the thin, plastic cover slip. "It looks most...confusing."

"Sort of reminds me of that stuff when Silkie exploded." Cyborg turned to Nightwing. "Any chance you had a taste?"

The former Boy Wonder looked like he was going to gag at the mere suggestion. He noticeably moved away from Starfire and stood on Cyborg's other side. "It's looks strange, doesn't it? I don't know where to start."

"Yeah, usually stuff like this stop moving. You sure it's organic?" Cyborg turned to Starfire, "It's not just-what are those berries called? Zergaberries?"

"Zorkaberries?" Starfire took a closer look. The substance was not familiar to her at all, and was most definitely not a delicious fruit from her homeland. "This is not the same."

A couple more minutes passed with Cyborg examining the substance some more, leaning back and thinking, and coming to know conclusion. "I'd feel much more comfortable looking this stuff up in my own lab. Think the League will mind if I take the sample?"

"I'll vouch for you." Nightwing went through the drawers under the lab desk and brought out a metal case. "Store the substance in here. Report back when you find something interesting."

"You're not coming with me?" Cyborg raised an eyebrow.

"No."

Starfire touched her friend's shoulder, "Cyborg, I will accompany you if you wish..."

"No...I mean, Star?" Nightwing coughed, his cheeks turning slightly red. "Can I talk to you?"

That certainly surprised her. "Do you need my help with something, Nightwing?"

He thought for a second before answering, but then finally shook his head. "I just need to show you something. Cyborg, do you have everything you need here?"

Cyborg waved a robotic hand. "Yeah, yeah. I just want to examine something I took earlier. After I'll just take some more samples from your lab guy and I'll be good to go." He turned around, "You two have fun."

She didn't really want to leave just yet. The rest of her people were in this space station, but the look on Nightwing's face slightly worried her. It wasn't often that he looked scared, and Starfire couldn't remember a time when he seemed this worried publicly before. They were back in the briefing room, and Starfire stood to the side as Nightwing talked to his mentor. _He is worried. _ Perhaps it was the Egg or the weird organism Cyborg was examining. Starfire gave a soft smile as her ex-boyfriend approached her, but he kept a straight face. "We're heading back."

"To Gotham?"

"Yes." Nightwing didn't reach for her hand but simply walked to the spotlighted platform. Starfire followed suit, and soon, they were transported back into a much darker space.

Starfire recognized it instantly to be the Bat Cave. "What are we doing back here?"

Nightwing didn't answer and led her to the larger part of the cavern. They were back in the main hub, with the centralized computer and a young boy munching on cereal in the giant seat. "Hey, I did some research on that Red X guy that they were hunting. You're a great fighter, Nightwing, but not the best detective I gotta..." Robin paused as he spun the chair around. Starfire wanted to turn around as well when she saw that he wasn't wearing a mask or any part of his costume at all. The boy was just sitting there in a pair of Justice League designed pajamas. Tim waved, "Hey, Starfire. Didn't know you were coming back. Should have figured."

"Tim." Starfire looked curiously to Nightwing, who rightfully looked a little upset. But not for the reasons she figured. She continued, "I hope you are having a good morning."

"Shouldn't you be at school?" Nightwing crossed his arms.

Tim turned back around and set down his cereal. "Working on that. I sort of became a little involved with this. I'll save the file and get back to it afterwards." The young boy glanced at the time on the bottom of the computer screen. "...A half an hour left of Math. That should be enough time."

"It takes 25 minutes to get there if you run."

Tim shrugged, "Oh, cool. That gives me two minutes to change clothes. By Nightwing, Starfire!" The young boy ran up and down the hallway, barefoot across the stony surface.

Starfire looked back to Nightwing. "He must live...nearby?"

Again no answer. Nightwing moved towards another corridor away from the computer, and Starfire had to stop him, "Do you not want to look at the data the smaller Robin has compiled?"

"No, I don't." Nightwing shook his head. "Not now. Follow me."

She did, still confused by his actions, and stopped as both heroes approached a series of long, glass tubes. Starfire placed her fingertips on the glass of one container in particular. "This is your old costume? Is it not?"

"Yeah. All of our costumes are here. Mine, Tim's, Batman's. Even Jason's."

"Jason?" Starfire turned around from the red and green uniform, eyes wide.

"There's an elevator here." Nightwing walked down the dark cave even more. "Here. It leads up to our house, where we live."

"Nightwing?"

"Do you want to see it?"

The question hit her almost like a sudden blast of air. Her mind was begging her to say yes, that finding that side of him was all she had ever wanted two years ago. Starfire looked back at his face, and for once, wished she had Raven's powers again. She would love to know what he was feeling at this exact moment for he appeared completely apathetic to that question when it almost meant the world to her. "Are you alright?" She placed her hand on his forehead. "Has a globersnartch taken over your brain and infected your insides?"

"No, Star." He grabbed her hand, "I'm being serious."

"Oh." She blushed, feeling suddenly terrible. "As was I. I am sorry, Nightwing. It is just...unlike you to talk that way."

He nodded, "Maybe I should explain." They walked down a couple of steps until both were face to face with another Robin costume. This one was slightly more modern than what she was familiar with, with more red and black than green. Nightwing made a fist before continuing, "This was Jason's. He took my place a couple years after I left for my solo career and joined the Teen Titans."

Starfire knew what was coming. "I am sorry that he died and that your friend Batgirl also suffered."

He turned back at that, surprised she had known so much. "I never really knew him...not that well. Batgirl and I worked together a lot. She was," He bit his lip, "My first crush, I guess, if you want the whole truth."

Starfire gave no visible reaction, for, to be honest, that didn't really matter. She had loved him, but she couldn't have expected to be his only love. Maybe once the thought of anyone with her Robin would make her blood boil but not anymore. She was not that naïve. "And?"

"When something like that happens, you forget that you're not invincible. Sometimes it doesn't hit me how much we're risking our lives every day. I've fought the Joker countless times, and Jason was killed by him."

"Nightwing..."

"And Tamaran, Star." He shook his head, "It was only _luck_ that saved you. What if you died? You could have died and before I even got to..."

She wondered if he was going to kiss her. Nightwing was always shy about that sort of thing, even in private, but what he was saying made her heart feel so, so grateful. She had missed him. Losing her home and family only concreted that. They had their problems, but some things were worth fighting for. As a superhero, she should have realized that sooner.

But Nightwing didn't kiss her or hug her or even grab her hand again. Instead, he lifted his hand towards his face and removed the black mask, revealing a pair of blue eyes. He looked uneasy, uncertain-the black mask crumpling in his hand. His skin was a little red from the sudden force to which Nightwing had pulled, but Starfire could only smile. She had never seen him like this and had wondered about that silly eye color for too many years. Her own eyes fell to the mask in his hand and then back up to his face. "Night..."

"My name is Dick Grayson. I used to be an acrobat in a circus with my family. They were murdered and Batman-Bruce Wayne-adopted me. He trained me for years and I was his partner. We were good, practically a single minded team, but I got tired of it, left Gotham, and went to California where I met you."

Starfire felt her eyes start to get wet. "Please...you don't..."

"But we were all uneasy, and I let the team fall apart. I loved you, Kory. I really did. And I don't know why I couldn't trust you or the rest of the team. It was childish and immature, and I'm sorry for it. You must have doubted me a thousand times, and I can't blame you."

She was afraid to look into his eyes. It was so new to her and unsettlingly. But Starfire swallowed and gave him a direct stare. "I never doubted it. I knew you loved me, but the secrets were overwhelming at times. It takes two people for a relationship to fail. You are not completely to blame." Her voice fell, "...but thank you for showing me this. It must have been difficult."

"No. Well, yes. But it was worth it. I should have done this years ago. I should have told everyone."

"Perhaps the Batman would not have approved."

"I don't really care about his approval." That thought seemed to conflict him, but Nightwing didn't say anything more about the matter. "Did you still want to go upstairs?"

She nodded fervently, "Yes. I would love that...Dick."

* * *

><p>Her hands were covered in blood. Raven placed his head into her lap and ran her fingers through his hair, "No, no, no." Gently, she placed his head against the pavement again and moved towards the wound in his chest. It wasn't that big, but the blood flow had been massive, and Raven immediately held her hand against his neck to feel for a pulse. <em>Please, Gar... <em>"Don't do this to me."

It was only his fallen body that kept her glued there. If she had the opportunity and knew that he was safe and better, she would be gone in a heartbeat and hunting him down. Her thoughts raced at the premise of Slade being here and attacking them. Of Gar facing the bastard all by himself.

_Garfield?_

His eyes were closed, and she knew he was unconscious from the blood loss and shock. _Slade...since when do you use swords? _ But she couldn't think about that now. She needed to focus on what was important: healing Gar. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." This would hurt a lot, but she didn't care. It barely crossed her mind at all until she felt her own chest start to ache and had a metallic taste in her mouth. "Wake up." The blue light in her hands was starting to dim, but Gar still wasn't moving. Her voice, normally solid, felt like cracking. "Please, Beast Boy. Please wake up."

She had been warned before in Azarath. She wasn't supposed to heal fatal wounds. The process could kill her. _This isn't fatal. _She looked at Gar sternly. _This can't be fatal. _

It seemed forever before his eyelids wavered, and soon she saw green eyes staring at her. His breath was still labored but he managed to raise a hand, just enough to place it on her own. "Raven..."

"Gar, be quiet." Her vision was starting to get blurry, and something wet was falling from her nose.

"Stop it."He pushed at her hand but it was still weak. "Stop healing me."

Raven scoffed, "Don't argue with me right now." She could see the red from his blood even on the black paneled part of his uniform. The wound was healing, looking raw and scabby, but she kept her hand there.

"Fine. No arguing." Gar stood up halfway, his slight grimace turning immediately into a smile when she could no longer reach to heal him. "I feel fine, Raven."

Raven didn't feel the need to correct that obviously wrong statement. "What were you thinking?" She didn't move to stand up. Her legs felt weak.

"I wasn't. When do I ever?" Gar moved his hand to her face and wiped the liquid on her upper lip. "This is blood. What were _you_ thinking?"

That was simple. She was thinking that she didn't want to watch him die. "It's okay. I'm okay. But you going on a solo mission is not. I thought you were smarter than that, Gar."

His eyes lowered, "Dumb enough to try anything, remember? It was something I had to do."

"Well don't do it again." She cringed at how cold her voice sounded. Raven immediately recovered, "-without me. We're a team, Beast Boy. I don't care if the Titans officially disbanded. We will always be a team."

He was smirking at her. _What's so funny? _ "That's the first time you've called me Beast Boy since I've seen you again."

Raven didn't know what he was getting at. To her, he was both Garfield Logan and Beast Boy simultaneously. She stood up and ignored the wobbliness in her legs, "Hilarious."

"Hey, hey!" Gar jumped suddenly from the pavement as Raven began to tip over. "Watch yourself, alright? You used up a lot of energy. I think you're worse than me now."

"It'll pass." She held her hand to her head and allowed herself to lean on Gar's shoulder. "Eventually. What happened here? Where is everyone?"

"Let's sit down first, okay?" Gar was still pretty tired. His injury wasn't nearly as horrible as it was, but his body was still weak. He led her to a nearby bench and collapsed down, sighing. "This is going to kill tomorrow."

"You're lucky you aren't dead now." Raven narrowed her eyes, "If I hadn't been tracking you..."

"She probably wouldn't have stabbed me. She needs me alive."

That statement was confusing for multiple reasons. Raven decided to focus on one. "_She_?"

"Ravager." Gar fingered the wound on his chest bringing up dried blood. "Apparently Jericho has a sister."

"Impossible. I've asked him before. He has no recollection of any other siblings."

Gar shrugged, "Just because he doesn't remember doesn't mean it isn't true. She's working with Slade and Red X."

He was so curious. What Beast Boy did sometimes...it made absolutely no sense, yet there was some strange connection at the end. It almost made her want to smile, but she bit it back. "You mean..."

"The Regenerative Egg. She has it, but I don't know why."

Raven felt her stomach drop. "If Slade is involved with this, it needs to become an even bigger priority." She remembered how he was when she had seen him again. If he was willing to make a deal with her father, he was becoming increasingly psychotic.

"Ravager is no pushover either. If only I hadn't..."

Raven turned to him, "Hadn't what?"

"Hadn't been so careless and clumsy. Haha, I must be so rusty."

"Maybe." Raven folded her hands, and took a breath. She had brought it up before, last night actually, and she was ready for him to finally explain. And the truth was she was a little upset that he was hiding something from her. "Gar, you can be honest with me."

"Raven?"

"I...I know everything about you. Your parents, the Doom Patrol-everything. And you know everything about me." She turned to face him, but the changeling's eyes were far away. "You can talk to me, Garfield-about anything."

There was a slow exhale from Gar's body and once again he looked at the hole in his uniform. Raven knew it was just another scar to add to the many, another injury and physical mark. What Gar was dealing with now was a completely different hardship. "It's hard to change."

"I know, but just breathe and think through it." Raven unconsciously grabbed his hand. "That's always what I think."

"I mean, it's hard to change. As in...transform. I-I can't do it, Raven. Well, sometimes I can. Sometimes it's just like it was-easy, natural. But a lot of the time it isn't. It's almost like when I first got my powers. It took a lot of time to change and sometimes I would get stuck midway because my muscles would hurt. I could only do small things and then I got better, but this isn't like this." He paused and attempted to measure her reaction. Raven was practically a stonewall so he continued, "I don't know what's wrong with me."

That statement offended her. "Nothing is wrong with you, Gar." _Is this what he's worried about? _ It was why he had been late in their battle with Red X, and why he had gotten such an injury now. It explained so much, except for the actual cause. "You're probably just out of practice."

He looked at her hopefully, "You think?"

"We'll check. You think it's physical?"

"I'm not sure what this is."

She tightened her hold on his hand, "We will figure this out." Her chest was heavy. "I promise."

"We?" Gar smiled finally, "Alright. We will. But first the Egg?"

Raven had almost forgotten. "So this Ravager is Slade's daughter. And she has the Egg?"

"Her or Slade. Or both. Not that it exactly matters."

"Then we should go after her. Find out..."

"Pointless." Gar shuffled his feet, swinging them up and down. "She doesn't seem like the type of person who'll crack. But I, uh, made a deal with her."

Raven's mouth dropped, "You what?"

"A deal. You know, like a trade."

This wasn't good. "What kind of trade?"

Gar was suddenly hesitant. "You won't like it."

Oh, she had already guessed that much. She tugged at their linked hands, wanting to let go as a punishment but needing the connection all the same. She couldn't get the image out of her head, the one of Gar bleeding on the ground with a hole in his chest. His green skin had looked ghostly pale, his eyes closed and dulled. For some reason, Raven's tongue felt fuzzy and dry and she smacked her lips together before talking again. "We won't be able to make the trade if you don't tell me."

"Yeah, I guess." Gar sighed and forced his hand out of her own so that he was holding his neck. "It's Terra."

"What?" She had heard him just fine, but the name still felt wrong to her. She hadn't thought of Terra in forever, and suddenly, thinking of the dead, blonde girl next to Beast Boy wasn't comforting at all. "Did you say Terra?"

His green eyes flashed, "You heard me, Raven."

"But..." Her mind was suddenly hurting again. "She's dead."

"No, she isn't."

"Yes, she is," Raven said almost forcefully. "I watched her die. You did too. She killed herself to try and kill Slade as well."

Gar nodded and took a deep breath. It looked pained, from the stab wound or the topic Raven couldn't tell. "We all thought Slade was dead but he wasn't."

"Slade made a deal with my father. We saw Terra turn into stone."

"And I saw her after that."

That completely threw her. Was lava not sufficient enough to kill anyone? Did Terra somehow break through the rocks or never die in the first place? Was her memorial all some sort of sham? "I don't understand, Gar."

"Neither did I." The changeling pointed to a brick building a little further down the street. Raven noticed the US flag hovering on a flagpole outside and recognized it to be a school. "See that? I saw her there years ago. Well, a girl that looks like her. It's a high school."

"And that's why you returned to Jump City?" Raven's voice sounded slightly hollow, but she didn't think Gar would have caught on. Usually, the slight changes in her tones went unnoticed by most. "To see her again?"

"No, no!" He held up his hands, "Well, yes. I mean, it was all to find Slade. I didn't...I mean...I don't..." Gar sighed and folded his hands together. His voice became serious. "Terra meant a lot to me, Raven, but that was a long time ago. This was strictly business."

A part of her didn't accept it, but that didn't exactly matter right now. She needed to connect his thought process. "So you were looking for Slade? Through Terra? Because you knew Slade was working with Red X?"

"I thought Slade might have been Red X." Gar chuckled, "Stupid, I know. But Nightwing and all of them all have similar fighting styles."

It actually sort of made sense. Raven was slightly impressed. "And he knew about the suit."

"Exactly. But who cares about that now? You know..." Gar looked at her expectantly, and Raven was wondering what he was going to do. The green man bit his lip, and then nervously placed a gloved hand on top of her own again. She let him lace their fingers together, never looking at his eyes. Those eyes were dangerous. They were so green and full and bright, that Raven knew how distracted she would be, and she couldn't afford that at all. "I'm not usually the worried type. I mean, yeah when you had all those red marks on your body and started saying stuff about the end of the world and sort of...exploded...I was pretty scared. But this...this doesn't sound good. I'm..."

"Garfield." She cut him off, not wanting to hear those words for him. Raven needed Gar to be her light, always. She needed his stupid optimism, his never ending happy-go-lucky attitude. And the fact that the changeling wasn't acting like that made her own stomach fold on top of itself. "It'll be okay." She couldn't believe she was the one saying this, but she wanted to comfort him. "How many times have we saved the world?"

"Too many. Once post-destruction too." Gar smiled then, and whatever anxiety he had, seemed to dissipate as he dragged her back up to face him. "Feeling better? Even though I really, really am sort of ...uh...dreading it, I think we should find Terra."

"I know." Raven didn't like the idea either. She was still bitter about the betrayal. It took a lot for her to trust someone,_ a lot_, and Terra threw all of Raven's friendship and trust right back in her face. She had brought out every single insecurity Raven had about herself, and just her name brought the image and taste of mud clogging her lungs and throat.

"I don't think Ravager's the passive type," Raven continued and dared herself to touch his chest again with her free hand. She used his injury as an excuse, circling the perimeter of the now scarring mark before turning to his face. "We'll need to find her before she does."

"And figure out what they want from her." His breathes were even more shallow now.

"Isn't that obvious? Her powers."

Gar shook his head, "No. She doesn't have any powers anymore."

Raven didn't comment on that but turned and kept walking. It was weird to think of Terra being alive-weird and...alarming. And the fact that Gar had saw her again and told no one about it was not comforting at all. "Did you manage to get any information about her from the high school?" She kept a clear poker face.

"Yeah, but not so much. I don't know her alias and could only give the name Terra." Gar scratched his head, "Now that I think about it, the girl I thought was her didn't even respond to the name Terra."

"Of course she didn't. She was ignoring you."

Gar's eyes narrowed for a second, "Maybe. But that doesn't help that the list of names they gave me are all 'Tara's'". He dragged his free hand through the top of his uniform, and Raven briefly wondered for a second if he realized they were still holding hands.

Not that she would tell him.

Of course not.

When he handed her the piece of slightly bloody paper, their hands broke apart again and Raven refrained the slight frown. She freely admitted that she felt comfortable around Gar, and after seeing him bloody on the ground, feeling his pulse through his hand was the best reassurance. Her purple eyes scanned the paper. It was just a list of Tara's in the school. No pictures. No addresses. Nothing pertinent at all. "This looks suspiciously like a dead end."

"No, I wouldn't say that." Gar gleamed, and Raven knew he had come up with some sort of idea. It was written all over his cocky face.

She grumbled, "What?"

"Remember that site that Cyborg wanted to have a profile on but Robin said no because it was a risk to all of our identities and then all these people started making these weird like...fan pages for us and all of us would compete on how many likes we would get and comments? And then Ro-Nightwing had Cy make a site for the Titans network so that we could all keep in contact?"

When she managed to decipher his ramblings, Raven did have some recollection. That had been annoying, and Beast Boy and Cyborg would constantly complain that it wasn't fair that Robin had so many 'likes' because he had worked the East Coast for so long. "It was that myfacelinked thing, right?"

"MyLinkedBook." Gar took the piece of paper from her. "Stupid name actually. MLB...it's like baseball, which doesn't really..."

"Beast Boy, please get to the point."

"Hehe, right." He seemed to glow at the sound of his superhero name. "We can use a computer, just plug in the name in the search engine on MLB, and get a series of pictures of each Tara on here. Some even put their addresses and phone numbers."

Raven blinked at his last sentence. "That's idiotic."

"Well, it makes our lives easier."

"How do we know Terra will have one of these..." Raven stuttered. Technology wasn't exactly her strong suit. "Profiles?"

"Because nearly half America does! And don't get me started on the stats in our age group."

Raven looked at him directly. "Oh, please do."

"Well..." Gar flushed a bit, "So I don't know that exactly, but come on. It's a good idea. Takes no time or money or anything. And we might be able to get an exact locale."

Raven crossed her arms, "This sounds too good to be true."

"I'm not saying it'll work." Gar began to walk down the street, and Raven noticed his green eyes glance sideways constantly, as if he were looking for something. "But it's worth a shot. It won't take long at all."

He was right about that. It wasn't as if they had any other leads to go off of. _Except Jericho. _Raven didn't mention the idea to Gar though. She had told his identity in confidence. "What are you looking for?"

"No-nothing." But it didn't seem like nothing, especially since Gar flipped open his communicator and dialed what seemed to be 911. "Crime scene. If you guys could scan the area. Yeah...Titan 02. Beast Boy... Yeah...Ha, yup. Bye!" He turned back to Raven after he attached the communicator to his belt. "Ravager made it sound like she killed someone. I don't want to leave a dead body hanging around."

"You want to look for it?" The knowledge that Ravager had actually killed increased her worry tenfold. Forget what Gar had said earlier. He could have died. She could have watched... _Stop it. _ Raven coughed in an attempt to clear her head, "Garfield?"

Gar shook his head. "We should hurry."

She didn't know where he was leading her, but it wasn't back to any sort of teleportation device she knew of. Raven thought they would head back to Gotham or maybe the Watchtower, and it wasn't until a few minutes later that she started recognizing the area. Actually, this area was very, _very_ familiar to her. Her purple eyes widened when they caught the large T across the bay, a silver giant. "We're not going back there, are we?"

"It's the closest computer we have access to. Doubt you have one of those smartphones?"

Raven didn't even think that question warranted a response.

Gar smiled. "Right. And I'm definitely not letting you do your whooshy-black thing in your condition so we'll have to go back."

She didn't want to, and from the changeling's tug at her hand again, she realized Gar had the same trepidation. He led her on, without saying a word, and Raven didn't need any more reassurance. Titan's Tower had been a happy place for her, and she would only think of that as she went back inside.

They took the secret tunnel that led to the garage, both of them walking slowly from their own weakness. Gar turned halfway in the dark. "I think I have a spare uniform in my room maybe."

"In the lobby you definitely do." Raven remembered the museum. There was a small exhibit of their uniforms in the Justice League's Earth base and a much larger one in their own old tower. "Do you think the tours end by now?"

He gave a hesitant sort of chuckle at that, "Think they might have been scared off earlier."

"You were here before?" Raven almost lost her grip on him.

He ignored her question. "Look, we're here!"

The garage was empty, the halls were empty, and Raven went straight to the main common room while Gar went looking for a new uniform. She walked over to the large screen and turned on the computer. Tired, Raven decided to wait for Gar on the couch and leaned back into the cushions. Her body wanted her to sleep, but she drove herself up as Gar came back, a new uniform wrapped in his arms. He glanced at Raven and then the computer screen. "Too hard for you to figure out how to start the interwebs?"

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you." She went on the silly website Gar had mentioned before and started typing the first name on the list. Behind her, Gar was changing uniforms again, but Raven tried not to focus on that at all. Her attention was poured into the name on the screen, and then, just as Gar said, a tiny picture appeared corresponding to the name. _Not Tara Allen. Unless she gained 40 pounds._

"Hey...um, Raven?"

"Hm?" She didn't allow herself to turn but continued down the list. This process was easy and fast. Every single person on this list appeared to have one of these stupid profiles, but none of them looked like the girl she once knew.

There was shuffling behind her, and Gar cleared his throat. "I know you must be really busy with the League and all."

"Yup." Raven kept typing. She was almost done with the list, and so far, all but one showed up.

More coughing. _Is something wrong? _ Raven was about to turn around, but she only had five names left. _Five names and one that doesn't show up. _ "And I know that finding Ravager and the Egg and...um, Terra is important right now, but..."

"Wait a second, Gar." There was something in his tone that almost made her not want to interrupt him. She was curious what he was going to say but at the same time, terrified to hear it from him. Especially from him. "Tara Markov."

"Raven?"

She turned to face him, now in a fresh uniform, and repeated. "Tara Markov is the only one on here without anything on this MLB site."

"Is that a good thing?"

"If you were Terra, would you want to be found?"

"Okay." Gar walked next to her, "We can look that name up on the Titan's database then and get an address." He leaned over her, and Raven exhaled. He smelled like blood and sweat, and Raven froze from his proximity. It was for some reason harder to breathe. Gar immediately took notice, "You okay?"

"I-I'm fine." She stood up and offered him the seat. Gar didn't take it. "But Garfied, are you? You and Terra..."

"I'm not sure how much clearer you want me to be, Raven." He was still typing and looking at the screen. After he clicked 'enter', the database started to load. If there was anyone with the name Tara Markov ever in the system-whether it be a credit card, a lease, a birth certificate-it would show up. It just might take a while.

And suddenly, Raven's eyes were torn from the screen as Gar grabbed her wrist. "What?" This wasn't like him at all. He was acting more primal, more beast than man. But when she caught a better look at his face, she saw that familiar softness. "Beast Boy..."

"I know you." Gar looked up with her and there was a strange duality of both nervousness and confidence exuding from his body. The empath didn't know how that was possible, especially when combined with the other feelings swarming in him. Determination. Love. Fear. He placed her arms on his chest and held her in place. "Even after two years, Raven..".

She couldn't help but fidget a little. Her body was extremely uncomfortable and warm. She loved and hated being so close to him. Something was undeniably attracting her to him, but at the same time, at the same time this was _Garfield Logan. _This was Beast Boy. This was the little kid who wore that stupid mask, who told her she was never alone, who gave her a lucky penny, who kissed her before she joined the JLA. Beast Boy meant a lot to her, so much that it was terrifying. All she could do was a mutter a, "I know."

"Of course you do. That is your power after all." He let go of her and rubbed the back of his neck. Raven's hands remained frozen on him. "And that's why...I guess...I won't say anything about this. And don't act all oblivious to what I mean by this, Raven. Because I'm not talking about the Egg or Tamaran or Terra. I'm talking about us."

There was an alarm of panic when he finally said it, and Raven inched back, "Gar, don't say anything stupid."

"I'm not. I won't say anything else. This isn't that important right now." He sighed, "We're heroes. What we want is pushed back for the greater good and all of that other stuff."

She was somewhat shocked by his mentality. "You matured a lot."

"I was always mature." His smile glowed. "You think all those Mega Monkey games didn't have some sort of life lesson attached to them?" Gar turned around, "And there's also that whole slight chance you just laugh in my face...well, if you actually laughed. I'm willing to delay that as long as possible."

"Beast Boy?" Her own confusion was blocking out the remainder of his emotions. She didn't know what to say. Raven couldn't turn to honesty, for even that was torn. There was Wally-who was funny and silly and so much like Gar that it started to worry her. And Gar was a complicated issue within itself. They had kissed and she loved it, but then it had all ended. Just like that. A few scattered messages but no promises of tomorrow. She felt something for him, but was it enough to risk everything?

"Yes, Raven?" He looked to her with a little hope in his face, but it soon dulled when he had a better read of her expression. "We...we should just focus on the mission, shouldn't we?"

The words from her mouth felt awful, poisonous. "Forget about us." She placed her hood over her head and pointed to the address on the screen. "Let's just find Terra."

* * *

><p>AN:

So what is this Image Manager thing? And why are there small thumbnail pictures being used to attract people to stories? I'm going to feel that this story will now be less popular because I'm incredibly uncreative in that department. Oh well. I hope you all liked it!


	13. Powerless

A/N:

I am writing this and then sleeping. Oh boy.

I must say that every day I look forward to writing this fanfic. And I thank you all for reading it and spending the time to provide me with your wonderful comments and feedback. It means oh so much to me and makes me smile so much :)

My wonderful reviewers:

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne_: I have a thing for love triangles. Pretty much for all of them except for Twilight, but before I rant... Thanks for your review! There is hope for Dick and Star yet! Though roads are rocky.

_The Cretin: _She's so confused. But that's one of the reasons why I love writing her. It's so interesting. She's such a great character. Same with BB, whom I refuse to make such an idiot as some other fics do. That really bothers me for some reason, but then I feel I need to self check myself for maturity levels. So I'm glad you like his maturity! I think you're right about Gar wondering what a normal life would have been like with someone like Jill, but also in the end that he wouldn't trade Raven up for anything. They both have done so much for each other that I can't imagine they'd choose anyone else besides each other. AW. I'm getting too sentimental. And yes. Yes. Terra is a clusterf**k. Which I think is why I couldn't help myself in this chapter and the future ones. That area of BB's emotions just BEGS to be explored. And it isn't. I love his snarkiness. I love that he grew and changed and got over Terra and became a leader and got over his insecurities but still possessed so much of his original self that it was organic. Sure more progression is nice but you can't put him back into his old self and call that progression. That's why the word regression exists. I enjoy talking to you too! And this story I guess.

_MelonLord28: _Well, maybe you two can flip a coin to see who goes first. Or maybe teamwork would work best. And Terra showing up is bound to have complications! I'm the worst.

_Katwizzle: _She meant for now! Ha, I just think she holds saving the world in higher importance than herself. Oh, Raven. What a silly girl.

_Joseph: _This is the most truthful review I have ever gotten. Ha. That would probably solve a lot of problems.

_Dancing Eyes: _Yeah, unless I become a wonderful artist in the next year, I don't see myself using that feature any time soon. And you're right about Cy! He needs some love too. Hm.

_Cafechan: _Thanks for your review from chapter 10! Glad you enjoyed it :D

_2-shadows_: It's my favorite kind of tension!

_Playsintherainicorn: _Why thank you! I appreciate the threatening of other potential readers (no really, I do!). Thanks so much :D

_LobsterMobster95: _I am so glad you commented on Nightwing and Star and that you're liking how I portray the latter. She's hard. I didn't realize it, but I think she's the hardest for me to write, so I'm super happy you like her. And thanks about work! I really love writing this story and even if I'm tired, I don't think I'll ever stop writing. Your review was so nice and I reread it several times because it made me smile. Thanks again and good luck with school!

_leedakay: _Wow, that's a huge compliment! Thank you so much! I'm loving that you find the characters in character and maybe I should call DC about that movie thing...

_Miss Topaz: _Oh all those things will be revealed! I was actually planning on revealing some BIG thing in this chapter and then I thought I already explained one thing so it could wait. And thanks for the comment about Nightwing and Starfire! It is about time. Seriously guys. Just get married. And it wouldn't be fun for Gar and Raven to get together _now_ right? I'm glad you understand!

_Sofia Michelle_: Thanks so much! And I'll try to explain some of the things you have mentioned, though to be honest I think this fic would be way too long if I went into the Doom Patrol (and also, a part of me is working off comic book universe where they are like...uh...never mind), but I do promise some of those questions will be answered (awful response right now...). Oh Image Manager. I will consider it. And as for your story, I will try to read it as soon as possible when I have a larger amount of free time :) Thanks again!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans

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><p><em>Chapter 11: Powerless<em>

He didn't know what to think really. This was a complete mess. All of it. Gar watched as Raven led them both upstairs. She wanted to see her room again, and he followed behind her also wanting to delay finding Terra for as long as possible. But that didn't look too likely since they had her potential address in Raven's pocket.

_Well at least that's going well._

Of course it was. The one thing he didn't want to pan out was going swimmingly. His powers were still a mess. Ravager and Red X and maybe even _Slade_ were out their planning who knows what. And then there was Raven and his own idiocy. Raven and his impatience. Raven and her inability to ever break the barrier of anything that could ever be more than friendship.

Gar shook his head behind her. He shouldn't be blaming Raven. If anything, he was rushing things. They had only seen each other again less than a week ago. Yet, to Gar, all of the emotion he had felt for her in the past came rushing back in no time. She still made his knees shake, his mouth stutter. She was still the girl he had kissed two years ago, and almost every part of him wanted to screw inhibition and do it again. But obviously that wasn't the same for her. Obviously he was just rushing into this and thought they had something that-

"It's strange."

He picked his head up at her voice and looked to the open door in front of him. Raven stood in front of him, hood still on her head. Gar fumbled with his words since he was still a little zoned out. "...Wh-what?"

Raven walked further into the room. It was a lot emptier than what Gar remembered-all the knick knacks and 'personal' touches looking incredibly staged. It wasn't Raven, and the image bothered him. Sure the colors and fabrics seemed to be the same, but he could see the difference, and obviously Raven could too. Her hands touched the edge of her bed, and then she turned back, and removed her hood. "I don't like it."

"Then let's go."

"I..." Raven sat on the bed. "I'm not sure I want to yet."

He understood, surprisingly, and crossed his arms and leaned on an empty wall. Gar just stared at Raven, who in turn was staring at the weirdly familiar room. It didn't seem to be hers, but it brought back so many memories anyway that she just needed a moment to stop. That moment, however, was short lived, and soon Raven was up again and looking at the changeling. "I'm ready now."

"This address is in Jump City, isn't it?" Gar looked at the paper he had copied it on. He had heard of this neighborhood before. It was a 15 minute commute by bus, less by teleportation, but he didn't want Raven doing anything like that yet. She still looked pale (_Well, paler than usual_) from what she had done earlier. Gar too felt weak, but there was also this different strain of confidence in his body. _She said she'd help me. Raven will help me figure this out._

And as far as Gar was concerned, Raven could figure out anything she put her mind to-including his mysterious changing problem. They began walking back into Jump City, and Gar smiled seeing the streets were crowded again. Both superheroes were immediately met with loud whispers and questioning stares, and Raven quickly put her hood back up from the attention.

_If she doesn't think it's physical what could it possibly be? _ Gar flexed a hand. He felt in shape. He worked out practically every day even when he became an actor. That career path didn't really call for out of shape people, and there was no way he wanted Starfire's recount of the future to become anything like his reality. _Scary. _ His hand immediately went to his hairline, but it all seemed okay.

_At least you wouldn't have been the worse off. _ His green eyes met the back of Raven's figure. She was walking ahead of him, keeping a fast pace after peering at the address Gar had written down. _If that ever happened. If she ever went-_ He shook his head. _I can't believe I would just abandon her like that. I would never. _ He was only relieved to know that this present Raven, _his_ (but not his) Raven, was mentally stable. She was fine, and he could not be any happier about that.

He just hoped he didn't scare her with what he had said. She must have known. How could she not have? _But all that questioning about Terra..._ Gar shook his head. _What does she think? That I'm still in love with some girl from eight years ago? _ Terra was cute and happy. She laughed at his jokes, which was something the young, insecure Gar had needed. She paid attention to him, but when it came down to it, he had only known her for a month or so. He had known Raven for years, and there was no need for the empath to worry about that at all.

Gar practically stopped dead. He tried not to smile. _Why is she worried about me and Terra? _

It could be that she just didn't want him to get hurt. Yeah, that was possible. Or the much more pleasant reason was that she was jealous. Which wouldn't be so bad.

He tried to read her, but that was never easy. Gar examined her gait, watched as her face muscles twitched in the slightest. Yet the only read he could get was that something heavy was on her mind. And because of recent events, there was a plethora of reasons for that sort of stress.

They weren't in the best of neighborhoods, and Gar edged himself closer to Raven on instinct. It wasn't like she had zero chance of defending herself. In fact, Raven could probably kick his ass if she wanted to. She had multiple times during training before. But the changeling still hovered close to her body, and Raven attempted to remain impartial and oblivious to his action.

She stopped short purposely, causing Gar to bump into her back. "Do you mind?" Raven turned around slightly. "Gar, I don't think anyone is going to try and fight us."

"Are we here?" He ignored her words and looked at the brownstone in front of him It wasn't awful. The stairs had cracks and holes, the concrete crumbling from the outer edges. It was nothing like Vic's apartment or the one they were staying at in Gotham. But it was okay. Livable at least, but then again, Gar didn't really have the highest of standards.

Raven nodded and climbed the first step, "Yes. Tara Markov lives here." There was a listing of names and bells to the side of the tall wooden door. "Markov, third floor." But Raven's finger slipped to a different number.

"What are you...?"

The sound of the intercom on the other end stopped Gar from continuing. An unfamiliar woman's voice called out a, "Who is it?" and Raven calmly answered.

"I have a delivery for you." She glanced back at Gar, "Flowers."

There was no more talking, just a loud buzz and the sound of the door to the front being unlocked. Raven opened the wooden door and turned back to the green man who still stood frozen on the end of the stoop. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah...yeah." He cleared his throat and followed her up into the dark building. "Third floor you said?"

"Yes." Raven turned to the stone staircase towards the right side. "You can stay down here if you want."

"Raven?"

"Your emotions." Her head went down at that. Gar knew she didn't like admitting that she had read him, but he didn't blame her for doing it. If he had her powers, he would use them every chance he had. Plus, he knew she wasn't doing it to be intrusive or nosy. She was just worried and he didn't want her to be.

Gar began to jump up the stairs. "Beat you there!"

He continued his climb all the way to the third floor and stopped at the landing. Raven didn't even try to take on his challenge, not like he exactly expected her to. "3E." Raven pointed down the hall. "Hopefully she's here."

Gar swallowed. "Hopefully. Raven?" He grabbed her wrist and caused her to stop.

"What is it?" She turned around and lowered her hood, eyes looking a deep purple in the dark.

"Let me go first. I want to talk to her." Gar breathed as he saw a flash of some emotion in Raven's face. It was tiny, lasting only a millisecond, but soon the empath nodded and stepped back.

"I'll wait right here."

Gar smiled and practically tiptoed down the hallway and stopped at the door labeled 3E. The white paint was cracked, and any chance that Tara Markov wasn't home was washed away at the sound of the TV behind the door. Gar stretched out his fingers, making a fist before softly banging on the door. There was a rustle on the other side, and then a feminine voice shouting, "Who is it?"

His voice felt scratchy. Gar massaged his Adam's apple and said slowly, "An old friend."

The TV on the other end was turned off. Gar listened carefully for any sign of movement, of the girl named Tara Markov running away or going out a window. Something. He expected the real Terra to run from him, to pretend that he didn't exist like she had done before. He knew that had been her. And he knew, as soon as the door screeched open, that this was her too.

"...Beast Boy?"

That threw him. He stared at her. Long blonde hair. Blue eyes. Small smile creeping on her lips. She was older. She was still pretty-beautiful actually, and she knew him. Terra remembered him and he felt like falling on the floor. "You're alive."

"Yes." Her hands scraped on the edge of the doorframe as if she were holding herself up as well. Terra looked him up and down and gestured to her open apartment. "But you knew that already. Please, you have to come in. I have so much to explain..."

"We don't have time." He glanced back to the edge of the hall where Raven was waiting in the shadows. "Terra, someone's looking for you."

Her face fell, "Beast Boy, please come in, okay? Only for a second."

Gar glanced at her ripped baggy shirt and jean shorts. The apartment looked messy but it was big, a nice size, and he saw her Chinese takeout sitting on her coffee table, chopsticks still inside. "A second, Terra."

She smiled widely, led him inside, and sat on the couch. Her apartment was small, dark, and pretty barren. There were no pictures or any sort of personal belongings. Just necessities. Terra held up the white carton. "Want some? It's lo mein. Vegetable."

"Terra." His stomach grumbled but he didn't accept her offer. "You need to pack and come with me."

She raised an eyebrow, "Is that an invitation? BB, we haven't seen each other in..."

"You're in danger," Gar's serious tone made her put the white carton down. "Slade is looking for you. Come with me and you'll be in the protection of the JLA." He actually didn't know what they would do with her. Protect her for sure. She may have betrayed them but she was a hero in the end. They'd figure out how to get the Egg later. "Terra?"

She shrugged and held her knees to her stomach. "I can't say I'm surprised."

He grabbed her hand. "Terra, please take this seriously."

"BB, how am I supposed to?" She shook her head and smiled at their connected hands. "That man is a monster. I thought I killed him, but I'm not surprised I didn't. I thought I was dead too. If I found a way out, he must have. Of course Slade would. And of course he'd be looking for me." Terra gripped him even more. "BB, he wants to kill me. He wants to hunt me down, and he will too. I can't even believe you found me."

"It wasn't that hard." He leaned back. They were a little too close, and Gar didn't feel entirely comfortable. But he kept a hold on her hand. Terra was upset, shaken, and he didn't blame her for it. "And that's exactly why you have to come with me. If I could find you, Slade definitely can. But I won't let him get to you, Terra. I promise."

"So what do you expect me to do, Beast Boy? Just pack up and follow you?" Terra asked hesitantly.

"Um..." He let go of her hand and scratched his head. "Yeah, actually."

He was upset he couldn't come up with a better answer, but the sudden hug from the girl in front of him assured him that maybe it was exactly what she wanted to hear. Terra jumped from the couch and ran off to the other room. Within a couple of minutes, she was back out with small yellow duffel bag. "I'm set."

"That was fast."

Terra gleamed, "I'm used to moving fast, BB." She walked over and pointed his chest. "Remember that." She giggled slightly at his uneasiness, "But seriously, I used to move around a lot. Packing is something you get good at."

"Right." His face flushed immediately and Gar moved towards the door. "Raven's waiting outside. Hopefully she can teleport us to the Watchtower."

"Raven?" Terra grinned a little bit as well. "I haven't seen her in forever either. She isn't..." The blonde dug her toes into the wooden floor. "Still mad about what happened before, is she? I said some horrible things to her."

"Then you can tell her you're sorry." Gar grabbed her hand again for urgency. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>She had every reason to doubt that this Tara Markov was the Terra she once knew. Statistically, this would be a dead end. This would just be some other girl getting a surprise visit from Beast Boy. But statistics and probability didn't explain the gnawing feeling in her gut. Her hood was back over her head in seconds, and Raven leaned against the peeling walls and stared down the hallway Gar had entered.<p>

_What's taking so long?_

Though she knew that answer. It was Terra. That was it. Either that or this Markov girl was a Beast Boy fan. Yet Raven favored the former explanation, and her suspicions were only confirmed when she saw the changeling emerge from the dark, a blonde girl by his side.

It was almost like she hadn't aged a day-though Raven realized how exactly wrong that statement was within seconds. She was still thin and tall, close to Gar's height but not awkwardly towering over him like she once did. Her light hair managed to pick up every speck of dismal light in this place, and how couldn't it? This girl practically radiated a glow-just like she had in her brief Titan days. But that young girl had been a stick. This Terra had developed hips and a figure. Her face had matured and her hair was cut with a slight angle.

Raven suddenly remembered Terra's days as a Titan. She had been jealous at how easily she opened up to her friends. She fit in easily, fluidly, while Raven had struggled for years. Gar had fallen head over heels. Starfire did too. They had practically fought over the girl, and Raven...Raven was jealous, not of her relationship with Gar, but her relationship with all of them.

And now she was back. Raven stiffened and dragged the outer edges of her cloak around her body. Terra was approaching her, and all Raven wanted to do was run away from all this. "Raven!" The girl was hugging her, _hugging her_. Raven stiffened even more, feeling more like a wall than a body. But Terra kept going, "I know you must hate me. I would hate me too. But after everything, Raven, I...I'm..."

"Get off me." She couldn't take it anymore. Raven hated hugs normally, but a hug from _her_? She stepped back and couldn't help but look at Gar, who looked a little stunned by her actions. It was a little harsh, and Terra did seem hurt, which didn't entirely bother Raven that much. Actually, the thought that it didn't trouble her bothered her much more. "...We just have to go. Ravager could be tracking us or something."

"Ravager?" Terra turned back to Gar. "Who's that?"

"We'll explain all of that later, Terra." He rubbed a hand on her back and looked to the empath. "Raven, can you teleport us to the Watchtower? If you feel weak still, don't do it. But you're right. We shouldn't stay here."

She closed her eyes and tried to get a read on the energy she had left. "I can probably get us to Gotham."

Terra looked excited, "I haven't been so far east in such a long time! That sounds..."

"Are you sure?" Gar walked closer to her, but she didn't let him touch her.

Raven nodded, "Let's get out of here. Terra, this may feel weird."

"I trust you," She smiled, and Raven stared at her for a while. There was nothing in her face that could make the darker girl doubt her words, and Raven could only wish that she could feel the same. And she felt guilty for it. This girl was practically a martyr and Raven still couldn't forgive her for what she had done. She had been her friend before Raven realized she could even make friends. And all of that had exploded in her face. Sure, she had been sad when Terra was supposedly dead. She remembered that feeling well, but now...now that emotion had turned into confusion and annoyance and distrust.

_Why would she play dead for so long? Why ignore us all?_

"Fine." Raven released the black raven form and it enveloped all three former Titans. It was heavy. She was used to carrying herself and Wally around in the JLA, and the extra weight of a third person threw her off a bit, especially since she was already tired.

When the dark energy dissipated, Raven wandered away from Gar and Terra and fell on the leather couch. She felt disoriented and half wanted to puke, but at the worried green eyes on her, she sat up straight. Terra ignored it, too distracted by the luxurious apartment she currently found herself in. The blonde tied up her hair and turned back to the changeling, "Who's place is this? It's...it's amazing."

"Nightwing's." Raven didn't bother explaining anymore. She got up from the leather couch and filled up the kettle in the kitchen to prepare some tea. It would help calm her down, and that was exactly what she needed. After pulling out a green teabag from the cabinet and letting her water boil, she then realized that Gar hadn't followed her to the kitchen. Raven sort of expected him too, what with her sudden weakness and everything, but it was only when she started drinking her tea when she heard the sudden yell.

"Beast Boy, please just let me explain!"

Raven dropped her mug and leaned over the wall to listen. She wasn't really one to eavesdrop ever, but she felt the need for it now for some reason. Tea could always wait. This was a little more interesting.

"How do you plan on doing that? You remember me. You remember everything. So you obviously remember the time when you said that you _didn't _remember me."

"BB, it's not like that."

"Oh?" She heard a snap in Gar's voice and it had her cringe. He was _mad_. And for some reason, Raven was smiling. Gar continued, "Then what was it like Terra? Explain to me how you were supposed to be dead for practically the last decade and you couldn't even...you couldn't even..."

There was a series of rings and Raven recognized the Titans' ringtone sound on Gar's belt. "Garfield." She decided to approach them, the empath in her not wanting to deal with the crazy mess of Terra and Gar's emotions. "I'll answer it. You and her should talk."

He wanted to argue. Gar held up his hands but Raven was already in front of him, shamelessly grabbing the communicator from his silver belt. "Go." She gestured to the both of them, "I don't want to deal with this." She directed this to Terra, and the blonde immediately took Gar's hand and dragged him to the nearest bedroom and shut the door. Despite hating where they had just went and the mental images berating her brain, Raven calmly answered Gar's communicator. "Hello?"

"BB, you feeling sick? Your voice is deeper than normal."

She practically cracked a smile at that. "Ha. Funny, Cyborg. Garfield's...unavailable. Is something wrong? How's Starfire?"

"I have a feeling she's doing a little better."

"And Tamaran? Did you figure out what happened?"

Cyborg sighed from the other end of the line, "Nah, not yet. Nightwing gave me a sample from the site, but to be honest, I haven't been looking at it too closely yet. Just waiting on a comparative analysis."

She didn't mean for it sound demeaning, so Raven tried to keep her voice completely expressionless. "So what are you doing?"

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but the little green guy's been acting weird." Cyborg laughed, "What am I saying? Of course _you_ noticed."

Raven blushed and moved as far away from the bedroom door as possible. Gar was acting strange in multiple ways, but Raven only chose to acknowledge the one way she wasn't embarrassed to talk about. "He can't transform, Victor." She whispered it over the phone, not entirely sure of Cyborg's knowledge. "I told him I'd help him, but I don't where to start, Cy."

"Yeah, I was worried about him too. Don't let him know that, okay? If he knows that we're worried, he'll get even more nervous and this will probably get worse."

_Worse? From us acknowledging it? _ "I don't understand."

"I'm a scientist. I run experiments and take samples on a daily basis. So I may have-just may have-taken a sample from Gar's comb in my apartment just now."

Raven still wasn't following, "So you're not in space anymore?"

"Ah, no. I'm back in Metropolis right now. I needed to examine the sample Nightwing gave me under some more familiar conditions. Plus, I wanted to check this out before BB did something stupid."

Her purple eyes strayed to the bedroom door. They were still talking, and Raven wanted to turn on her empathetic abilities but she was afraid of what she might feel. She kept those powers locked up and cleared her throat. "I think it's too late for that," Raven deadpanned. "And what did you find out?"

"That his DNA is insane."

Raven's heart pumped, the hairs on her arm standing on end. She didn't want anything to be wrong with him, and a million and a half awful thoughts went through her head. He could be sick. His powers could have vanished. Whatever vaccine his parents gave him when he was a boy could have disappeared, leaving him vulnerable to Sakutia again. "You sound pretty cavalier about that."

"Well, because it's supposed to be." Cyborg decided to take a calmer approach, his voice sounding mellow and comforting. "Look, Raven. Gar's supposed to be able to change into any animal he wants, meaning his DNA should be fragile. And I mean fragile in the sense that it can easily change, not that he'll break or that you'll have anything to worry about."

Ignoring how nervous Cybrog was getting about explaining Gar's health to her, Raven tuned in on what he was actually saying content wise. "So this isn't physical?"

"No, I don't believe so."

Her back found itself against a wall, and Raven felt herself sliding down it slowly, her knees giving out in relief. She hadn't known how worried she was-that a part of her mind actually considered something was seriously wrong with him. What would she have done then? "Thank Azar."

"Raven?"

She was still on the ground and nodded, though quickly gave Cyborg an oral response when she realized he wasn't in front of her. "So it's nothing like that." Raven exhaled. Was she really tha concerned about him? "It's not physical."

"No, but what's wrong with him then?" Cyborg groaned. "After that fight with Red X, Raven, he was so upset with himself. Something's up with him, I think before all this even started. He thought nothing of coming here and dropping his gigs in California."

She peered at the closed bedroom door, "And this definitely won't help the situation at all."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"You'll see eventually. Come to Gotham when you can. And can you call Nightwing and Kory too when you get a chance? We have a lot to discuss."

"A complete Titan reunion necessary again, huh?"

"Yeah." She didn't go into detail on how 'complete' this reunion would be. "Bye Cyborg." She put the communicator next to her on the ground and breathed. Gar was okay, physically, which to Raven meant that his problems were all in his head. There was nothing holding him back from changing. Nothing. Just his own thoughts. Raven didn't know how she would ever go about telling Gar that, but it was a relief for her to know.

Gar came out of the bedroom with his head down but a soft smile on his lips. Terra followed slowly and rubbed her arms before moving to the leather couch to sit. Without hesitation, the green man approached Raven and grabbed his communicator from the floor. "Cy?"

"Yeah. He's examining some material Nightwing gave him in Metropolis." The dynamic between Terra and Gar had changed significantly, almost as much as it had before. Raven didn't think Gar had been mad at her, at least not when they had first found her. And if he had been, she certainly wasn't expecting him to blow up at her like he had done. A part of the empathy was proud of his behavior, that he wouldn't fall over himself for her. But she didn't know what had just happened in that room because now the two seemed perfectly fine again.

"So Star and NW are alone up there, huh?" Gar raised an eyebrow and practically laughed. "Good. I figured that would happen when she came back."

Raven looked at him strangely, "How could you ever think that?"

"I know you can tell they love each other, yeah?" Gar's green eyes flashed. "But I have instinct. I can tell when someone's getting restless. And NW was."

"Is NW his new name now?" She was getting a little nervous and felt blue eyes from across the room on both of them.

Gar shrugged, "Until I know his real one. Oh, and she was telling the truth. She doesn't have any powers."

It took her a minute to catch on to the change in conversation to Terra. Gar didn't bother lowering his voice, and Terra seemed satisfied enough with them talking about it. The girl sat Indian-style on the couch just flipping though the TV channels. Raven glanced over Gar's shoulders. "How are you sure?"

"He tried to make me angry," Terra answered for Gar. "I didn't realize you could be so manipulative, B. Something you picked up?"

Raven sensed some malice in the blonde's voice, but she didn't acknowledge it. "What did you say to her?"

"That's not important." Gar bit his lip. "But what could Ravager need her for if she doesn't..."

"He said he never loved me." The TV was suddenly off. Terra stared at Raven, blue eyes dulled. "He said that he wished that I did forget about him because all of this would be just oh so much easier for him." Terra smiled. "All lies though, aren't they?"

The changeling sighed, "Terra, please."

"Never mind. I need a shower." She raised her hands and left for the bathroom.

Gar shook his head, "Man, I'll never understand girls."

"Garfield." Raven's voice was closing up. She crossed her arms. "I don't want to focus on Terra and your past. We have more important things to talk about, alright?"

His mouth opened a bit and Gar took a step closer, "You mean..."

"I mean Slade and Tamaran. Those should be the only things on our minds. Slade and Tama..."

Her own communicator was ringing this time, and like she had done before, Gar took the yellow device from her belt and flipped it open. "Raven's communicator, this is Beast Boy speaking. How can I help you today?"

Raven flushed red. "Gar...what are you..."

Gar's face fell. "...Oh. Um, yeah. She's here...Why? ...I mean, why do you want to talk...Just forget it." He held out the communicator to Raven. "It's for you."

"Obviously." She rolled her eyes and turned away from Gar. "Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?"

Her body tensed at the voice immediately and she moved further from Gar. "Wally..."

"Yeah. It's Wally. Aka the Flash. Aka _your partner_. Look, Bats let me track you to _Gotham_ but he failed to mention why the heck you were there. So, mind filling me in Rach?" His tone slowly fell away from annoyed to worried, and Raven felt herself opening up.

"Terra." She blurted it out before her mind could process the word.

There was silence on the line and a tugging Beast Boy behind her, but Raven was ignoring that. Finally, Wally began talking again. And at one time Raven thought silence from the speedster was impossible. "...as in Terra Slade's apprentice?"

"Yeah."

"As in that blonde chick BB dated and who you hated and was practically _cremated_ by a volcano? Ha, that was kind of clever wasn't ..."

She sighed. "Yes, Wally. That Terra." Oh how she suddenly wished he was here so that she could hit him.

"I'm coming."

Scratch that. She did not wish Wally was here. "Excuse me?"

"To make sure that girl doesn't do anything stupid. Jinx told me a lot about her as relayed through you guys. She kicked your ass, Rach."

"And I don't intend on having that happen again."

"And I also assume this has something to do with Red X and the Egg?" Wally snickered over the phone. "My mission too. I'll be there. No need to thank me. See ya in a bit."

He hung up and Raven groaned. This was exactly what she didn't need-both the Flash and Beast Biy in the same room again. Gar slumped as well. "He isn't."

"He's an idiot." Raven tossed her phone onto the couch. And if she were being honest, there was a small part of her that wanted him here again. With Terra here, she suddenly felt like the odd one out-a third wheel. Terra and Gar had all this past history that Raven didn't even want to think about, and she knew Wally would always be on her side. "But we could use his help."

Gar seemed suddenly down again. "With Slade?"

"And everything else." Raven turned to Gar, suddenly suppressing the urge to grab his hand and hug him. She felt scared. She wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be okay, those reassuring statements the green teen had always spat at her whenever things looked their bleakest. This was getting messier and messier. There were too many things for her to figure out and weirdly enough, the one thing that seemed the most important to her was the one that mattered the least.

* * *

><p><em><em>A/N:

Thanks everyone for reading! I will write write more tomorrow and hope you liked it!


	14. Truth Be Told

A/N:

This one is shorter (but still a reasonable size) because I am updating early. And I am updating early for two reasons mostly.

One. I have received over 100 reviews and I am ecstatic. I wish there was a possible way to convey ecstatic-ism through text, but I don't think Italics works well and Caps just make it seem like I'm angry. Which I'm not at all. Maybe explanation points will help (!)

Two. I have discovered Teen Titans is returning. I am not lying and I am not referring to the shorts. Though there is a caveat of the animation style being different and the possibility of it being for five year olds, I am still beyond myself. Best birthday present ever. The least I can do is update my fanfic to commemorate my discovery of this. YAY.

And an extra extra thanks to the fabulous reviewers that helped me reach such a nice landmark! :

_MelonLord28_: I can't promise it's as... eventful as everyone wants it to be. But there is other drama in store! And no problem! I enjoy making days awesome.

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: _Yeah. Poor BB. I'm awful to him. And I'm sure unrequited-but-not-actually-unrequited love isn't helping him one bit.

_DragonHuntess22: _Thanks for your review of chapter 2! Yeah, not exactly light hearted. And yeah...prologue leads into a sort of a mess of a situation, which was sort of...uh...a twist I suppose. Is it bad I'm happy I almost made you cry? It is, isn't it.

_The Cretin_: Ha, I'm loving my nickname. Seven is my fave number, but anyway... Never saw Dallas. Before my time a bit, but it did look sort of interesting. And I'm glad you like the mess of a subplots! Sometimes I think my web is a bit too tangled. I need to start writing down all of the intricacies more, but that's an easy fix. And it's awkward. Even without one of those people. Oh, Terra. As much as I want to write her as a complete b****, I need to be honest with the cartoon. Drat. But thank goodness people seem to like her characterization. I thought it was different yet plausible. And she would have to win over the whole team again. If the Titans still existed at all. I see your point. Characters can be viewed as tools more or less to service plot or other character's characterization. I think Terra was that in both the comics and the cartoon. Definitely for the cartoon. Her season taught us so much about all the characters and of course made the show more interesting with the whole Judas Contract spin and such. And it taught kids all those good values of loyalty and friendship! She was a tool. And I haven't read the latest one! But it'll be interesting to see what they do with BB. I need to catch up.

_FYI_: I am not sure if this is spam, but thank you for the warning. I have no idea if this A/N is against the rules, but I won't be doing any of that other stuff...

_Sofia Michelle_: Oh yes. He likes a jealous Raven as long as she's jealous over him. And the room thing isn't exactly something I plan to reveal, but have some faith in BB :)

_horus346: _Horus, you read my mind. And another character's mind as well. And I guess my reasoning to why character's never communicate what they want is because they don't know what it is. Especially with someone like Raven.

_Katwizzle: _They are getting closer and closer...I swear. But a long race makes the finish ever more sweeter, am I right? or just corny? I can't tell.

_Heroc: _I would love to write Terra as a b-. Would absolutely love to. But she isn't, so I won't. In the cartoon, she wasn't actually a bad person, and I'm grateful for that because then I would probably dislike BB for liking her. What a messy circle. And I can definitely promise you some friendly competition for the two ladies. And Oh Wally. I think I messed up Kid Flash for a lot of people and I feel bad. Hopefully this chapter clears things up your feelings for him! And Gar's issues...Raven isn't really doing the best thing. Or is she?

_LobsterMobster95: _Hehehe. Oh love rivals. Now it's a love square. Sort of. And Terra has always irked me as well. For a whole multitude of reasons, but I think the betrayal thing sort of cemented that for me. That and how stupid Gar was with her. And my whole biasness of BB/Rae. Yeah. Multitude of reasons. But I'm glad you find her interesting! Aw and thanks! I am glad this fic has made you smile as well!

_Miss Topaz_: It is! But maybe not in the exact way you think... Popcorn could be necessary though! And it's amazingly fun. I have such a blast with these characters! And oh. Poor Wally. Poor, poor Wally. I like him too. Which makes this story even more confusing for me, yet fun to write. I hope this chapter restores your love for the speedster!

Disclaimer: Still don't own. Still wish I did.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 12: <em>_Truth Be Told_

Raven sat on the leather couch, Gar positioned across from her on the floor. Gar was ignoring her or he was distracted, but Raven guessed he was some combination of both of those things. His green eyes glanced from the floor to the bathroom and only looked to Raven when the silence had become a little too tense.

"So Wally's coming?"

She moved down to the floor so that they were eye level. The coffee table stood between the both of them, and Raven rested her hands on it flatly. "What did she tell you?"

"She hasn't explained anything." He looked back to the front door, "But seriously, Wally's coming?"

"I don't know what to do with her anymore. We can't just hand her over to Ravager for some Egg, but at the same time we need it back." Raven sighed. This was tough. As much as her mind begged her to distrust Terra, she couldn't completely. What she had done for all of them had earned her another chance, and Raven could not throw her to the dogs. There needed to be another way.

Gar shuffled in his seat, "Well, we figure out why they want her. To be honest, she didn't seem all that surprised about this whole situation."

"Strange. There's also the big question of why the hell she's even alive."

"Raven..." Gar fidgeted again.

"It just doesn't make sense. We saw her, Garfield." She looked at him firmly. "She was a _statue_. People just don't come back from that."

He didn't seem that disbelieving. "What about you? You...exploded right before my eyes and look at you now."

That was a good point, but there was some difference there. Terra had been swallowed by a volcano. Raven had been a portal-brought back to hell by her father only to be saved by Robin. She was _saved_ but was Terra? Did someone save her as well?

The knock on the door drove Raven up from her seat and had her exhaling deeply. It wouldn't be Nightwing or Starfire. Cy was still in Metropolis probably, and she knew Wally was not one to be late really. And unsurprisingly, she was greeted by his red and white uniform when she unlocked the door, and the Flash only looked around, not saying anything. It was only when he sat on the leather couch across from Gar that he nodded his head and said, "Hey, Beast Boy."

Gar gave a forced smile. "Hey."

"How've you been?"

Raven bit back her own words from coming out of her mouth. He's been horrible. He's been conflicted and confused and doubtful, and she didn't know how to help him. But of course, Gar didn't say any of those things. The changeling shrugged and gave a noncommittal, "Fine."

"Hard to be 'fine', isn't it?" Wally didn't mean it with any sort of bad connotation, but seeing Gar's pained reaction, continued on to soften the words. "Just saying that this stuff must be pretty rough for you, isn't it? You've just been so out of practice for two years and then your ex just comes prancing in from the dead. I know if Jinx..."

"He's fine, Wally." Raven tore her eyes at him, voice firm and short. She sat next to him though and folded her arms across her chest. This was certainly the most uncomfortable she had felt for a while, even more so than when she had been left alone with Terra and Gar. She felt as if both of their eyes were concentrated on her completely, and that thought had her hand reaching for her hood. Wally though, didn't let that happen.

"I'm changing."

"Huh?" She was being dragged up by the speedster, and at the action, Gar stood up as well, looking defensive. "Why?"

Wally threw his hands in the air, "You guys are _stressful_, and I can't stand it. I won't. We're going out."

At this Gar immediately approached him. "This isn't the time to go out, Flash."

"BB, it is the _exact _time. And I'm not inviting you so don't you worry. Just Rach here."

"Rach?"

Raven stepped forward. "Gar's right, Wally. This isn't the time for this."

"Nope. I'm not hearing this. We're going to go eat. I'm starving. BB has some issues to pan out I'm sure. And we can game plan on the Red X-Egg case." Wally grinned, "With code of course."

She didn't like it. But it was also very appealing to keep Flash and Gar separated, so Raven nodded and walked into the bedroom.

"Raven, wait..."

She shut the door before she let Gar finish and went through the dresser in the room. As expected, Nightwing was grossly prepared. He had several sets of outfits for both male and females, and Raven assumed that the outfit she was currently grabbing was for the civilian version of Batgirl. Her ring was in her belt and she ran her fingers across the silver perimeter and squeezed it in her hand before opening the door again. The outfit was simple-jeans and a black sweater. She gestured inside when Gar was staring at her. "If Terra needs clothes..."

"Will you two be back?" He asked softly.

"Of course we will." Raven smiled and walked over to him, but Flash coughed-no longer wearing the red suit.

"Changed out here. Beast Boy didn't mind, did you?"

Gar gave him a slight stare and shook his head. " 'Course not, Dude."

"And I'll bring her back in one piece." He saw Gar grunt in reply, and Wally scratched his red hair before approaching the green man. "Look, I'm no idiot. I know about you two." Raven was surprised to see the speedster not gesture back to her, but to where Terra was in the bathroom. "And knowing what happened back there and knowing...Raven, the girl will be too hostile to ever allow Terra to spill exactly what happened and to explain what the hell is going on right now. Got it?"

Gar swallowed, "You don't even know why Terra is here."

"And to be honest? I don't care. Jinx has told me too much about that girl. Raven has told me too much, and I really don't want to meet anyone who's dumb enough to trust Slade over you guys." Wally turned back to Raven, "You can put the ring on in the hall if you don't want him to see, Raven."

She nodded, a little too stunned to speak and waved goodbye to Gar. When the door was closed and no other people could be found, Raven slipped the ring onto her finger and didn't bother to look at her hands. When Wally pressed the door to the elevator, Raven placed a hand on his shoulder. "That was...surprising."

"I'm a quick thinker." Wally smirked. "To be honest, Rachel, I couldn't stay in that damn apartment another second. What's with you two? You guys got into a fight?"

Raven stepped into the newly arrived elevator. "We don't talk enough to fight."

"Ah." Wally pressed the floor button and leaned back on the elevator walls. "Sexual tension."

She flushed. "No."

"See? This is why I just lay everything on the line. Nothing to hold you back. Mess with your heads. Don't worry, Rach. I'm not jealous."

That she didn't believe. "You aren't?"

Flash walked out of the elevator when it landed in the lobby. " Of course I am. I like you, and I haven't liked anyone for a while. But I get it. He's the one that got away..."

"Wally."

The speedster continued. "Your best friend that could have been something more but never was..."

Raven shook her head again. "Garfield and I aren't like that."

"Then what are you two, Raven?" He turned around suddenly, and even the security guard stopped and stared at them. Flash scratched his head. "I mean, Rachel. Rachel. Sorry, babe. You know what happens when you date so many girls at once. You get confused."

_Idiot. He'll blow our covers with his emotions like that. _ She waved goodbye to the guard and led Wally outside. Gotham seemed to be perpetually gloomy and dark, and today was no different. Raven guessed that Wally being...Wally- that he was actually really hungry, so she set her sights on a restaurant where they could sit and eat. And hopefully that was all they would do.

But the Flash had different things in mind. "I'm not done with you."

"That's great," She said snidely and continued her walk forward. She maneuvered through a large crowd of people, and stopped dead when she saw Wally in front of her, arms crossed, face stern. Raven sighed, "What?"

"You and BB."

Raven blinked, "Want me to name people too?"

"Stop it, Raven. Just talk to me. Please."

She moved passed him and lowered her head, now black bangs falling over her face. It bothered her, seeing her hair that color, and she wiped the strands back behind her ears before organizing her thoughts and words. "I don't know. That's why I'm not answering."

"Do you love him?"

The word had her turning back. Love. That was unreal to her. The whole idea of love was something so new and yet something she had thought about constantly when she was younger living in the Tower. She was a teenage girl back then-a teenage girl living with a female alien that was so fascinated by that idea. Raven didn't know what to do with a word like love. She only knew what it felt like through others and how to manipulate that emotion. Callous things. Heartless things. Things demons did. "I can't answer that question."

Wally nodded. "So that's a maybe. Rachel..." He grabbed her hand. "Why aren't you doing anything about it then?"

"Wally, what are _you_ doing?" She shook him off her. "You say you like me and now you're practically convincing me to tell Gar I'm in love with him. Make up your mind."

"I'm just being honest. With you and myself. You're a great girl-beyond great, Rach. But I'm great too. I don't need to be anyone's second choice."

Her eyes flashed at that. "But aren't I _yours_?"

He twitched and grabbed her hand, and for a second Raven thought he would lie. But he didn't. "Yes."

"So what is this really about, Wally?" She blinked. "Wally?"

He dragged her closer to him, flushed against his chest, and kissed her softly on the lips. He was warm, soft, and Raven felt frightened by the idea that she was enjoying this. It felt nice, _good_, but her mind had no way to turn but compare it to the only other kiss she had ever experienced . And it was...it was...

"Sorry." Wally broke and inhaled deeply. "I just wanted to check."

Raven didn't realize her eyes were closed. Slowly, she cracked one open, "No good?"

"I wouldn't say that. Just..."

She paused and bit her lip, the taste still on them. "Different."

"Yeah," Wally squinted at her. "...Except how would you know that? Don't tell me you kissed Jinx before because that would be totally ho..."

"Please, be quiet." Raven held up a hand but smiled at his humor and continued down the street.

"Absolutely not. So I'm guessing Jinx is a no, but you and BB..."

She blushed. There was really no point in hiding it from him. "Yes, Wally."

"Holy Confessions, Batman! When?"

Raven shrugged. "This gives us something to talk about over dinner, no?"

Flash nodded. "And thank God for that, because no offense Raven, but you can get sort of quiet."

She didn't think there was any 'sort of' about her quietness, but Raven didn't argue. Especially now, since she actually felt like she would enjoy talking to Flash about this topic-no matter how confusing to her it was.

* * *

><p><em>That could have gone better. <em>

Gar stretched out on the floor, reaching for his toes, purple boots still on his feet. He waited and waited for Terra to emerge from the shower even though he had no idea how to go about this. There was a feeling of annoyance that the Flash had the foresight to know how Raven would react to Terra. Hell, Gar saw that within the first five seconds of them seeing each other again, but he still didn't think it would have made Terra that uncomfortable.

When the steam from the shower came flooding in the room, Gar didn't turn to face it. He pointed from his sitting position to the room Raven had been in previously. "If you need clothes, there are some extras in there."

Terra padded across the carpet. "Thank you, Beast Boy." And he could only turn around when he heard the door closed.

Gar stood up and went to the kitchen, searching for a beer but found that any sort of alcohol was suspiciously empty. _Superheroes. No drinking on that job. Definitely not. _ He shrugged, thinking that perhaps that was for the best, and grabbed a carton of soy milk from the fridge. He just needed something to calm his nerves, to try to reign in a bit of anxiety. He was still flustered around Terra, but he figured that was just because he hadn't seen her in a while. Yup. That was it.

He was seated at the small (non-leather) armchair back in the main room when Terra came out in a short sleeved white shirt and a different pair of jean shorts. She had pulled her bright hair back behind her head in a bun so that he could see her face completely. Terra moved to the couch and stared at him smiling and brought her knees to her chest. "Where's Raven?"

"She was hungry." Gar's stomach grumbled. "Actually, I am too. I bet Nightwing has some food in here if you want."

"Sure. Never did actually get to finish my lo mein." She laughed a little and followed him to the kitchen.

There wasn't much Gar found edible, but he settled on a box of brightly colored cereal and offered some to Terra. She accepted, and soon there were two bowls of cereal ready, one with soy and one with 1% milk. They never moved back to the table. Terra decided to sit on the counter and Gar just leaned back next to her. It was strange that he could feel so calm and yet confused around this girl. A part of him still felt like a little kid, and he suppressed the urge to crack a joke just...well because that was what he used to do. He crunched on a bit of the sugary cereal and then hit her with his elbow. "I never did let you explain, did I?"

"Nope." She flung her legs back and forth, hitting the granite counters. "Will you let me now?"

"Sort of asking you to explain now." He cleared his throat. "If you can."

"I...I'm sorry for ignoring you." Terra fidgeted on the countertop. "I just never wanted that life again. Sure, being a Titan was _exhilarating_ but it wasn't worth what Slade had done to me. Controlling my body. Making me hurt my friends and...you." Some of her blonde hair became loose and Terra let it cross her blue eyes. "I thought about you a lot, BB. I sort of watched all of your movies."

Gar flushed, "You did?"

"Yeah. Of course I did." She elbowed him back. "You never told me your real name!"

He shrunk back. "It's sort of embarrassing."

Her laughter was light, musical. Terra set the bowl down. "I don't know. I found it kind of adorable."

"Terra..." Gar had to cut that thought off. He didn't want some schoolboy crush to be rekindled. He didn't want any sort of romantic connection to Terra at all. Or any connection for that matter. "Stop."

"Sorry?" She said unconvincingly. "Don't be such a baby, BB. What do you think I'm doing? Trying to seduce you for some evil scheme?"

Gar shook his head. "No. Forget it. I'm sorry. Keep going."

Terra shrugged, "There's really not much to explain. I was alive. I enrolled myself in school because I didn't want to be a superhero. Not like I could because I didn't have any powers. I went to community college because that was all I could afford. I've been working in a doctor's office ever since. Money's decent. I get time off."

"So is that who Tara Markov is?"

She flinched. "Tara Markov is _me. _T-E-R-R-A is an alias. That was who I wanted to be. I've been running from Tara Markov my whole life. And it's hard to keep running when you don't have any boulders to fly on anymore." The green man next to her grinned and Terra continued. "I missed that though. I won't pretend and say I didn't miss you, BB. Pretending to forget was the hardest thing ever."

"You'd have to have missed me to have watched those movies." Gar slipped a gloved hand over her shoulder and Terra turned to look at him. There was a brief, very brief, thought of what would have happened if she had never betrayed them. If all of this would have turned out very, _very _differently, but Gar didn't dwell on it for that long. Things changed and things happened for a reason. "Why would Slade's daughter want you?"

She huffed, "You mean Rose?"

"Rose?" Gar stared at her closely. "Is that Ravager's name?"

"Yes, I met her once a long, long time ago. She was young...10...11, I don't know. Rose Wilson."

Gar practically scratched the counter he was leaning against. "...you knew then."

"Slade was cocky with us." Terra jumped from the counter, causing Gar's hand to move from her body, and set the cereal bowl in the sink. "He told the Justice League his name was Deathstroke, but with us he used his real first name. Slade Wilson. He had a little family going on. Rose, your buddy Jericho, and the oldest one."

Okay. That was too much. _There are three of them? _ "...don't tell me he's evil."

Terra washed the bowl. "I don't know. Never met him. Slade didn't really talk about him much."

"He told you a lot when you were his apprentice." Gar took a step closer to her, attempting to be intimidating but failing completely. "Did he say anything else?"

"No."

"No? Nothing about what the Egg is or why he used you in the first place maybe or why he needs you..."

Terra dropped the bowl suddenly, causing a loud crack and Gar to back away. "Maybe he just knew how weak I was! He saw this scared, little girl, desperate for any sort of connection or some semblance of control and took advantage of it! And I thought I got out of it...I thought I killed him, and I was so willing to sacrifice myself, BB." She turned around. "I was willing to do anything for you guys. You were...you were my family."

"And you died, Terra." He didn't let her sudden emotion stop him. "You died and came back."

"Yes... I did."

Gar shook his head, "But how?"

She didn't seem affected by the question at all. Terra turned around again, more of her hair falling out of the bun. "Slade came back."

"Yeah, but Slade literally sold his soul to a demon."

At his words, Terra stopped all movement. Her hands gnawed at the edge of the metal sink. "And who says I didn't?"

* * *

><p>He was through his third pie of pizza by the time Raven decided she was ready to talk-which was really only fifteen minutes into the meal so she didn't consider it to be that bad. Wally halted when Raven cleared her throat and tapped her nails on the table. Taking one last big gulp, he took a sip of his coke and looked to her. "Ready, Rach?"<p>

"No." She scooted and pushed her plate of pizza away from her. "But I'll talk anyway."

"Good girl. So shoot."

"I like you a lot Wally."

He shrugged, "No surprise there." The redhead waited for her to continue, but when the empath hesitated, he spun his hand. "But..."

_Okay. Just slowly. _"But I agree with you. We should be honest with each other and most importantly, with ourselves. And honestly, I don't like you as much as Garfield."

"Who?"

"Beast Boy." She sighed at his smirking face. "I...I don't like you as much as Beast Boy. And you don't like me as much as Jinx."

"A different can of worms we'll deal with later okay?" He leaned his elbows on the table. "So you already explained to me all the Red X to Terra to potentially Slade fiasco, and while it's super important we deal with that, I think it's also important that you deal with him too."

"I know that." Raven did. She really did. She had seen enough of Robin and Starfire's relationship deteriorate to know how important communication was-how important honesty was. _I have to be honest. But how when I don't really know myself? _ "But, Wally, I can't honestly say I want to be with him."

For whatever reason, that surprised him, and the Flash practically spat out a confused, "Why?"

"Because." She paused and tried to gather her thoughts. "What if it doesn't work out?"

"Don't be stupid."

"I'm not." Her voice was sharp, and her fake blue eyes dug into him viciously. Did he think she was that silly? That ashamed of feeling? She wasn't. She knew emotion too well for her own good, but at the same time was not practiced with the subject at all. "You don't get it. I'm not like a normal person. Yes, I'm and empath. Yes, I'm a half-demon." She stared at the other tables in the restaurants, but none of the other patrons gave her a cursory glance. "And that will always be a part of who I am. I may have sent my father away, but his DNA is engraved in me. And I'm..."

Wally reached for her hand across the table. "You're afraid of hurting him."

"No." Raven shook her head. She felt tears-actual tears, and that was something she rarely ever felt. This was too much for her. Love or like or whatever this was is an extremely potent emotion. Her body felt weak and she gripped onto the Flash's hands. "I'm afraid of losing him."

"Pretty sure he likes you, Raven." He let her real name slip. "Pretty damn sure."

"He basically told me."

Wally couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Then how the heck would you lose him?"

"We're heroes Wally." She took her hand back and brought back her tears. "I will always be that. I will always fight whatever evil is in me. It's...it's a part of me. And I can't ask him to be a part of that. I won't. Nightwing and Starfire loved each other more than anything. I have never felt such a powerful feeling before and even they failed."

"You two are not Nightwing and Starfire."

She nodded, "Exactly. We're not. We're nothing like them. I hated him. He was annoying and stupid and so..." Raven couldn't help but smile. "Short. But Robin and Starfire loved each other practically from day one. Well at least liked. They grew into love. They experienced so much together and were so committed and now they barely talk. I can't lose Gar to that. I won't."

"So you want to keep him as friend?"

"No." Raven adjusted herself, awkward with her own honesty. "Truthfully? My emotions are practically begging me to kiss him again."

Wally blinked. "I'm a little confused."

"Me too." Raven took another bite and settled her pizza down. "He deserves..."

"Don't you dare so more, Raven. That isn't true and you know it."

Her eyes flashed up. "I was going to say 'a choice'. He deserves the option of living normally, and with me he wouldn't get that. He wouldn't have that at all. I want to be a hero. I don't want to live behind this." She gestured to her face. "But I don't know what he wants."

"Then ask him."

He had said it so simply. So easily. And Raven still couldn't wrap her head around it. "But what if I can't?"

"Then you just have to show him."

She sniffed, "Easy for you to say."

"Yeah." He picked up his glass. "It is because I went through all that shit before. You want to know why Jinx and I broke up? Because while I wanted a balance, she didn't. She didn't want to worry about whether I came home or not every day. A life of crime taught her the darker sides of most things, and she always thought the worse. She wanted nothing to do with this business at all. Even me."

Raven wasn't that surprised. For someone with Jinx's powers, it was an expected outlook on life. Whatever risks she had taken when she was younger must have bit her in the ass in a horrible way, and she wanted to escape from that life in every way. "Cyborg said she asked him for a ring."

Wally looked at his hand. "Yup."

"I don't think I ever said I was sorry."

"No reason for you to apologize. And do you know why?" He didn't wait for a response. "Because it was worth it, Raven. Whatever the hell you're afraid of-get over it. I don't know what it's like to be raised to be afraid of feeling. I would have probably failed miserably. So...it's okay if you take your time. I get that, but just don't let him be the boy who got away, alright?"

Raven nodded. He was right. Of course he was. And she was just about to thank him for helping her straighten out her mind before the bomb went off.

* * *

><p>AN:

This chapter may or may not be boring because I realize practically all of it is people sitting around and talking. And I was going to edit it or something, but then I decided I like their conversations and what happens and that I'm the author. Hm. I hope you enjoyed it anyway :)

If you can't tell, I'm in a ridiculously happy mood. Yay! But sorry for the incoherency of these notes! Thanks for reading!


	15. Unmasked

A/N:

Hello. This one's a little less emotional and a little more explanatory.

Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers that make my days extra nice! :

_Heroc: _If you like dialogue, you may like this one too since I feel like that's all it is. Bad. and could you imagine that? "I LOVE YOU GAR!" Right before she gets hit in the face. HA. ha. Fun. And yay! I'm glad I didn't ruin him. I love Wally too much, but you are right. Beast Boy is cooler. ...I feel like such a fangirl right now.

_horus346: _Thank goodness for KF. Raven needs a push. And exactly! Fear is something easier to feel and deal with than love.

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne_: Loved your review. Really got me thinking.I think that's exactly what she does. She only allows the emotions she's comfortable with feeling escape, and as for controlling them again, it'd be interesting to see how she deals with it. It's a tricky situation, and I'm starting to wonder if she'd regret both possible decisions-doing something or nothing.

_MelonLord28: _Wally is relieved. And hehe. Green elephants. Hard to ignore that just a little bit.

_LobsterMobster95: _Is a soap opera a good thing? I'm assuming yes from all of the other things you said, so thank you :) Oh Jinx. She just has to appear. I can promise you that. And whoa! I'm glad I made you like Terra, which is crazy to me since I don't. Maybe in this story...but, I'm not even sure. But it's good that you do! I think this story leans towards the darker side, and giving her a sadder edge is just like...natural. She's a messed up character. And I want to take advantage of that as much as possible. And that's so nice! I hope you are just as excited to get this alert email!

_Katwizzle: _I can update in a week! And she's slowly getting there! Small, hesitant steps for Raven!

_Punkerbelle: _Well...thanks! The characters being in-line with how they...are, means the world to me. I live for using/expanding on characterization accurately, so thank you so much. And I hope it's epic. I really do. Seems like I have ages to go though!

_Joseph_: Hehe, thanks for mentioning the bomb. Thought I'd get more reaction out of that one. And is it sad that I hadn't realized the title could be used in that context? Maybe I shouldn't admit that. Yes, I totally thought of the multi-functionality of my title. Good job picking up on it! ...ha.

_The Cretin: _Oh yes there certainly is. I think I should have more faith that other people like the parts of stories I like-the nitty, gritty characterization. And thanks so much for the MAJOR compliments. I loved that chapter too (if I am allowed to admit). And yeah, exactly right. In the comics they both had their barriers but got through him. They were willing to get over them, to fight on, and I think that's part of the reason why I love them so much. If it were too easy, it wouldn't be a good story. If they didn't learn something about themselves or each other through the process, it wouldn't be a healthy relationship. The last issue before the reboot makes me smile because I think it was absolutely perfect. It makes it harder as a fanfic writer because _you_ want to write the perfect scene but...well I think I'll manage anyway. I suppose saying she's a guest star's a little nicer way to phrase it! Tool seems a little...harsh, but I can't help it. Ha. And I can't promise I won't bring up the BB ship just a little, but that sounds super interesting. Terra and Garth? Huh. I've been looking for some stories so I'll definitely have to check her out! Thanks!

_Dancing Eyes: _Haha. I have too much fun with Wally sometimes. Demon's aren't cool. I imagine both metaphorically and literally. And I'm sure Terra will get crap for it later...

_2-shadows_: Very appropriate for all of them! Ha!

_logan_: Is this soon? I hope so.

_Miss Topaz: _Bomb's are never good. But Raven confessing is! Though I can't promise anything like that...yet/maybe/ever. And I promise it's not a joke! But don't get too excited! Slightly concerned it has no connection to the previous series at all.

_Deathrow609: _Jaw dropping is good! I feel successful! Thanks!

_Playsintherainicorn: _Thank you! And it comes with...um, planning I guess. Yeah. Planning. Never used to do it in school, but man, those English teachers were right. And thank you so much! I greatly approve of fangirl rants.

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of DC comics. Or the Teen Titans. Or anything, really.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 13: Unmasked<em>

Glass shattered throughout the restaurant and people screamed, ducking under tables and holding their heads in their hands. The noise was deafening, and Raven covered her own ears quickly, concentrating hard to calm down the ringing and the pain reverberating through her head. All of the people seemed to cower together with the table as a protective barrier, but she and Wally remained seated. _That wooden table's not going to help. _ But she welcomed the action nevertheless, for it gave her the opportunity to take off her ring unnoticed and put the object in her pocket. It would be weird doing hero work without her uniform, but at least she could change. Wally was stuck. "Flash, I have to go."

"Yup, let's go." He stood up. The bomb hadn't hit the restaurant, but they could both hear sirens and smell smoke in the distance. Wally looked at the fumes through the broken front window. "Smoke patterns don't seem that big. Must be an isolated incident. A target. I wonder who..."

"Your identity," Raven gestured to his face. "Do you have a mask on hand?"

"No. My bad. Do you think you can handle it?" Flash was a little worried behind that statement. "You have your earpiece in, right? I'll just sprint back and change before the News cameras arrive. But be careful, Raven. Don't..."

"Are you done lecturing me?" She raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry. Just go and come back."

The Flash saluted and sprinted off, leaving Raven alone with the remnants of the explosion. He was right. It only seemed to be one blast, which meant only one target. People were running and screaming on the Gotham streets, and she just hoped that there weren't any casualties. She didn't feel panic; she had been through much scarier things in her life than a bomb target in a nearby building. But there was still adrenaline, excitement, and that weird sense of curiosity as she approached the vicinity.

One man came up to her, obviously not noticing the purple hair. "What are you doing? Stay back! Batman will come and..."

"Batman isn't here right now." Raven held up a hand. "But don't worry, I'll..."

"She's a Titan!" Another man shouted. "Nightwing's team! The Titans are here!"

_No, they aren't. _ The Titans didn't exist anymore, but Raven couldn't correct him. "At least one of them is. Everyone stay back! Let me handle this."

It was an apartment building that was the target, and it was still on fire. The black smoke cascaded across the already grim sky, and Raven concentrated on the feelings of fear permeating around the structure. _There are too many people here. _ She didn't have time to think. Instantly, Raven spread out her arms and teleported inside the fire. There were holes in the walls-destroyed bricks and drywall splattered across the rotting wooden floors. She crushed it under her black boots, the one piece of her costume the empath managed to retain.

"Hello?" Her raspy voice barely filled the halls under the sound of crackling fire. "Hello?" This wasn't working. Wally was good at this-perfect actually. He could check every room in seconds flat, but she had to rely on her empathetic abilities. But every single person's emotion was loud, screaming at her with fear and pain. _The closest ones. Feel the closest ones. _ Raven whipped around and came to a locked door. She wasn't strong, but even with her training, she managed to kick the wooden door down to see a family of four huddling in the corner of a living room. "Here. Come with me." She offered her hand, and the four immediately approached.

Two little girls and a mother and father were soon wrapped in her dark energy as Raven teleported outside. She didn't wait for any gratuity before she vanished back into the building, the heat and smoke making every inch of her skin covered in sweat and ash. "Damn it." She started pushing open every single door, surprised to see that all of them were empty.

_Did all these people leave already? But how did they get out? _

Raven coughed as she approached the stairs to the next floor. The smoke was thick and blurred her vision. She felt the sting of ash invade her eyes and they started to tear, water dripping and making lines on her dirty face. Raven stumbled over some broken wood and dropped on her hands. _ Wally, where are you?_

She was still weak from healing Gar. Raven felt her muscles twitch as she pulled herself off the splintering floor. Her lungs felt weaker and weaker, and perhaps she would have even collapsed unless a black hand hadn't grabbed her arm and shoulder. "Didn't expect you to whimp out during a little fire. I like the new threads."

She couldn't see his face-only his black suit and gloved hands. When she wiped her eyes, she practically pushed him off her. His face was covered completely with a white mask-a white skull mask. "Red X!" She conjured up a dark glow of energy into her hands, but the villain raised his in defeat.

"I surrender! Okay, babe? Can't we just leave now and talk about this?"

"No time. I have to get everyone out of here." She tried to push passed him, but Red X grabbed her wrist, pulling her in the other direction.

"I got everyone out. Except for one family on this floor. But other than that..."

"I got to them already. What's going..." Her mind was so confused and muddled. There was too much smoke. She couldn't breathe well, and why was Red X even here? Why was he helping civilians escape?

Red X just continued to lead her out. "I'd love to talk, babe. Really, I would. But you don't have a mask on that filters air, so I doubt we'd be talking too long if we stay in here. Think you can get us out?"

"Are you sure there's no one else here?" Raven eyed him closely through the smoke but it was hard to read anyone with a full mask over their face.

"Don't you trust me?"

She didn't. But she needed fresh air soon. _ I can't let him leave. _Raven grabbed his hand forcefully and managed to teleport out of the flaming building. She still gripped Red X's hand when they were back outside in the Gotham air, and Raven held up her other hand, "You swear no one is inside?"

"Cross my heart." He smirked and pointed to his chest.

Raven's powers confirmed the statement. There didn't seem to be any emotions coming from the burning building, and she let an orb of black energy surround the building and block out any further oxygen from feeding the flames. Fire engines and police cars were soon approaching, and Raven turned back to her semi-rescuer. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn you in."

"Only one?" Red X scratched his chin. "How about I know where Ravager is?"

Raven blinked and waved the police away. _That's a pretty good reason._

* * *

><p>"You mean Trigon, don't you?" Gar stared at her. Wide-eyed. Petrified. He didn't really get what Terra had just told him. Okay, he got it. He understood the meaning behind her words pretty damn well. But, the actuality of it didn't make any sense to him. Why would Terra do that? And why would Trigon need her if he had Slade doing his dirty work for him? "...As in Raven's dad?"<p>

Terra practically spit out the remaining bits of cereal in her mouth. "Guess so." She twisted her hands together. "And don't look at me like that-like I had a choice."

To him she did. There was always a choice. Even though most people wouldn't see it that way, Gar had been a superhero for too long to understand that there were some decisions you made and did permanently. Self sacrifice was one of them in the face of adversity, for the preservation of the world. There was a greater good to protect, and even the younger teenaged Terra should have thought of that before dealing with someone like Trigon. But he also wouldn't judge her right away.

_Okay. There could be a good reason why she made a deal with a demon._

Gar shuddered, remembering Raven exploding into bright light-into an abyss he had thought she'd never escape from. He remembered Raven's father's booming voice towering over them. And he saw the end of the world right before his eyes. He saw the destruction and despair and misery Trigon had produced. And Terra had bartered with him. Gar steadied his voice but didn't look at her, "What was the deal?"

"I was more like a...bargaining chip," Terra admitted. "Trigon wanted someone who knew the Titans well. He had been watching Raven and all of you before that."

Gar raised an eyebrow, "So did he ask you to do Slade's job? Did you say no?"

"I never got the chance to. Trigon didn't trust my...lack of loyalty to you guys. And with good reason too. But Slade wanted me alive. I was a statue-dead for the lack of a better word for days maybe, but Slade wanted me back."

Gar reflected back on a memory. "He told Rob that Trigon owed him something. Was that you?"

"Maybe...partially. Slade was dead too. In order to remain conscious and not stuck in hell, Slade traded Trigon his body. He probably wanted that back first."

Gar could tell she was getting nervous and he placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing her upper back. She eased under the pressure of his hands, and the changeling kept telling himself that he was doing this for information. He blocked out her soft skin and tight muscles with negative thoughts. _Remember when she betrayed you. Remember when she ignored you. Dude, you were young. You were stupid and desperate and too blind to see that other amazing girl right in front of you. To see Raven._His fang bit his bottom lip. "And second?"

She sighed and relaxed back into his grip. "Trigon didn't ask for my body or life. He didn't want those things. He told Slade the only way I could not be a rock is if I give up my powers." Terra paused and looked at him, but he didn't say anything for once. "BB, you got a lot quieter."

His green eyes dulled, "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know. Some random remark about rocks and my powers? Maybe a smile?" She turned to him and touched his cheek, and Gar couldn't help but grin. "There ya go!"

"Terra, I just want to focus on how we can fix this. When you mention Trigon, things just sort of get even more ridiculously dangerous for everyone involved."

"You changed," Terra said still on the subject. "I'm not sure if I like it."

Gar shrugged. "Doesn't matter if you do. Keep going."

She crossed her arms. Terra's voice became a little flatter with his comment, that merry tone diminishing. "Trigon's not good with deals though. I was alive and stuck in hell. No powers or anything. Not until you guys stopped him. Then...well, you basically know the rest."

His brain was organizing what he had just been told, trying to mesh it with the version of the story he had lived. "So Slade was willing to deal with Trigon not just to be alive but to get you back too?" Gar remembered what she had said earlier, "And you think now he wants to _kill_ you?" That didn't make any sense.

"He doesn't need me like this." She flopped her arms lazily. "Look at me. I'm just a normal girl. And I know too much about his life. I'm a liability. And you know what bad guys do with liabilities?"

Gar blinked, "Um...ask an accountant to figure it out?"

"Beast Boy..." Terra whined, but outwardly she was smiling-that is before the seriousness fell back into her voice. "They get rid of them."

"But he knew the deal he was making." Gar shook his head. This wasn't adding up at all, and if _he _didn't think it made sense, then it really must be messed up. "If he didn't want you alive then why would he have..."

"Can we not talk about this?" Terra spoke sharply and turned back to the living room. She sunk into the leather couch, and Gar had no choice but to stand away from her.

He didn't mean to bring up any bad memories, and from the look on Terra's face, that was exactly what he was doing. All of this was probably too much for her at the moment. _She must be worried about her life. And she has no way to defend herself without her powers. _ He swallowed a bit. His powers weren't exactly the best either, so if Ravager were tracking them and if she were to stage an attack...

The knock on the door made him stiffen, but then there was a jostle of keys which immediately calmed him down. Two figures emerged through the door both looking extremely serious. Gar smiled at them though and abandoned Terra on the sofa. "NW! Star! I see you both had the chance to ditch Cy..."

"Not now, Beast Boy." Nightwing dropped the keys on the side table by the door, a black phone seemingly glued to his ear. "Hal, are you sure? Positive? Did Dr. Stone send you...Oh, he did? And they were? ...Fine, I'll talk to you later." He flipped the black device closed. "Damn it."

"Um, Nightwing?"

"EEK!"

Both men turned to the orange-skinned alien, only to see her pointing to the girl on the couch. Nightwing stepped up immediately next to Starfire. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Terra!" Starfire approached the blonde cautiously. Terra was still seated on the couch, looking at her two former friends and teammates with wide eyes. "...This cannot be true. This must be what they call the 'illusion' for I did see your death." Starfire walked even closer and poked her. "Huh! She is real!"

"Yeah. I'm real." Terra rubbed her arm. "And...hi guys."

Nightwing didn't seem so excited. He turned back to Gar immediately and pointed to the girl. "Explain."

"Well..." He slid a hand through his dark green hair. "Remember when I wanted to figure out Red X's identity? I sort of had this probably insane idea that Red X was Slade...because both of you fight so similarly and the only other guy that I knew who fought like you was Batman. But there was no way Red X was Batman. So I started to look for Slade in hopes of finding the Egg and to get to Slade I needed to find Terra." Gar choked back a breath. "...Again."

That certainly didn't help. He could see Nightwing become more and more rigid, his body tensing. "And what do you mean by _again_?"

"Don't blame Beast Boy." Terra stood up and approached her former, temporary leader. "He saw me years and years ago, but I denied who I was. I didn't want to be associated with the Titans anymore."

"And why not?" Starfire crossed her arms. Her eyes seemed to glow green, and it took Gar a second to realize that the Tamaranean princess was actually upset. _Terra betrayed all of us. Not just me. She didn't just say bad things to Raven and break my heart. She destroyed Starfire's friendship. _ "It is an honor to be a Titan. But perhaps that is something you have never understood."

Nightwing glanced around, wanting to dissuade the growing tension, "Where's Raven?"

"Out with Flash." Gar almost cringed at his own words. "She should be back soon."

"Good." The former Boy Wonder took Starfire's hand and led them both to the couch. He nodded in her direction, and the Tamaranean let out a light gasp before having her face fell. "We have a lot to talk about."

* * *

><p>Flash was still nowhere to be found, so Raven had no choice but to follow the criminal alone. The Gotham police didn't really recognize the villain, and it hit her then how far away Red X was from his usual haunt. Raven eyed him suspiciously as he leaped up fire escapes of a building further down, and she levitated to his eye level to slow him. "I don't want to talk here."<p>

"Look at you, taking control, trying to give a criminal demands..."

She didn't flinch. "You want to talk to me. Why else would you risk your own skin and go into a burning building?" Raven crossed her arms, "Because you wanted to find a hero."

"Think what you want, babe." Red X shrugged and continued his ascent, but Raven had stopped following him.

Placing a finger onto her ear, she paged the Flash. "Meet me back at the Gotham apartment. I'm bringing a guest." Her purple eyes went back to the man in black. Slowly, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I trust you."

This took him aback, "You...you what?"

The stuttering gave her enough time to harness her powers, and within seconds, Red X was clinging to her as she teleported them away from the fire and the scene of the explosion. He had a lot of explaining to do-more so than just Ravager. That bomb was no accident; Raven was sure of it. And what they were doing with the Egg and the connection to Slade-

Light was returning back into her vision, and she made sure her grip on Red X's stunned body was hard as they physically appeared in the apartment. The criminal immediately tried to push her away, "What the f-"

"Raven?"

Gar's voice had her head pop up, and her mouth dropped slightly seeing that he wasn't alone with Terra, not at all. Nightwing and Starfire were seated on the couch, hands intertwined and both looking at the person she was holding with extreme confusion. Nightwing was the first to fully mobilize. Dropping Starfire's hand, the hero walked over to Red X and crossed his arms. "Do you have any idea what your greed has caused now?"

The empath strayed away from the two men and replaced Nightwing next to Starfire. "I had to bring him back. I didn't want him to get away again."

"You caught him, Rave? Dude, that's..."

"I wasn't caught." Red X copied Nightwing's posture. "Liking the new look, Rob. The green tights finally messed with the stick up your ass?"

Nightwing growled and held up a warning finger, "Look. Your little trade is about to cause one of the biggest disasters we have ever seen. And all for what? How much did they pay you?"

"This isn't about money."

"Don't make me laugh. With you it's always about money. Always has been. What I wouldn't give to have burned that suit. You have been a constant thorn in my side, and now, partially because of me, some mad man has the Egg!"

"He's not a mad man!" Red X moved to the white skull mask covering his face. Sighing, his hand went to the edges and pulled the screen from his face, revealing sweaty blond hair. The former Titans paused at his unmasked face, and Red X's shaking body. He was angry-torn, but none of them were anticipating this type of reaction. "He's my father."

_That's Red X? _Raven examined him closely, and couldn't help but think he looked familiar. But where? A citizen of Jump maybe? _No, that's not it. He looks like..._

Nightwing stood for a second, completely stunned. Fumbling, the former Boy Wonder took a step back and tried to clear his throat. "...What do you mean?"

"It's Slade." Gar said and moved closer to Terra. "Think about it. Ravager. Terra. He _is_ working with Slade, aren't you? Who Flash fought on the rooftop when he was following you...he had said there was two of them. One was Ravager and one was Slade. Slade's your dad."

_Gar's right. _ Raven's mind throbbed, connecting all the new information. _He looks just like Jericho. _

"You're Grant, aren't you? Grant Wilson." Terra offered.

Red X turned to the blonde girl immediately, "How would you know that?"

"I used to work with your father." She stiffened with the thought. "I'm Terra."

"Oh... right. Gotcha. Rose mentioned you once or twice."

"Please!" Starfire stood up, her red hair falling across her back with the sudden motion. "Slade having children and the dangerous though strange looking Egg and the return of once friend then enemy then partial friend again Terra are more than a Glorgleburgen can retain!" Raven shifted a bit from the Tamaranean as her voice became louder and louder. "I will be in the bedroom taking the nap. Please only wake me if either Terra or the Red X are evil again." And with that, the princess left the room and practically slammed the door to one of the bedrooms.

The tension had snapped. Everyone turned to Nightwing who lowered his head, "She's stressed." And Raven didn't blame her friend at all. With the events of Tamaran and the Terra sighting, the last thing Starfire needed was someone like Slade back in her life. The empath felt uneasy with the Tamaranean's bubbling emotions. The poor girl really did need a nap.

Gar blinked at her outburst and scratched his hair. "Not to say I completely understood all of that, but I kind of agree with Star." He gestured to Red X. "So I got that you're _another _Wilson, but what the hell are you doing here?"

"I'd like to know that too. And why you're willing to turn in your own sister." Raven crossed her legs and let the hood fall from her head.

"Half-sister." Red X-or Grant Wilson looked extremely uneasy, much less calm and collected than he appeared under the mask. He had blue eyes that looked every which way before finally settling on Nightwing in front of him. "I didn't know why they wanted it. To be honest, I only took the gig in the first place because they were willing to pay me...a lot."

"Not surprised." Nightwing turned his head to the side. "Sit down."

The criminal thought about it for a second, and shockingly followed Nightwing's disguised order. He threw the white skull mask on the floor and shifted. "I never knew who my father was growing up. I grew up in the military. Lots of rules. Lots of orders. A guy gets itchy in that scenario. Never did follow dear mother's wishes of becoming a soldier, but I think she'll live. I mean, everything's easy to deal with after..."

Raven sensed the sudden shift in mood, "After what?"

"My dad was a soldier though." He ignored Raven's question. "A good one. He taught me everything I know, and I wanted..." He glared at Nightwing. "I wanted to impress him, to be his partner, but I was always too soft and weak. He sent me back home after I failed to show my "loyalty". He saw too much weakness in me to ever give me a shot." Grant sniffed, "His own son...He picked you over his own son."

"It's not weakness, Grant." Nightwing didn't move towards him, but his voice did soften. "It's..."

"Strength."

Everyone turned to see that Terra was the one who spoke. Standing, the former Titan walked over to Red X, her breath heaving. "I was his apprentice after Robin. He picked me because he saw how easily I could be manipulated. Robin was too smart for it, but I wasn't."

"That's nice of you." Grant patronized. "Really it is. But eighteen year old me didn't exactly see it the same way you did. So I stole your suit, Rob, and started to make a name for myself as Red X."

Raven nodded, "But when Ravager gave you the job..."

"Have you _seen_ her?"

"Did a little more than that." Gar grumbled as he rubbed the mark in his stomach.

Grant continued, "I wasn't sure if she knew who I was or not, but I knew she would lead me back to Slade. I stole the Egg, first for the money and then for my family. When we exchanged it on the roof, I told her I wanted in on the family business." He rolled his hands against his legs, "But I guess the old man was right. Rose made me set the bomb in order to draw you guys out for a fight. She wanted to check up on her." He pointed to Terra. "But I couldn't...I couldn't let that many people die. Not just because my half-sister wanted it easy. So I set the bomb after I got everyone out, hoping I could catch one of you quickly before Rose came back."

"Bomb? What bomb?" Gar immediately turned to Raven but was met with no answer. Raven remained fixated on Red X's emotions, waiting for a blip-any intimation that the criminal was lying. But as far as Raven could detect, he was telling the truth. She eased back into the leather couch. _What a mess._

"You're already threatening a lot of people's lives." Nightwing's voice became rough again. "Billions. Everyone's."

Some of his old confidence fell back into Red X's voice. "See, that I don't get. You mean to say that the little raisin thing is capable of killing billions of people?" Grant chuckled. "You're losing it."

"This isn't between heroes and villains. Just the Titans." Nightwing muttered.

The way Nightwing had said it made Raven turn to Gar immediately, made her feel as if no time had passed between them at all. They had fallen back into these roles seamlessly-Nightwing the leader, Star the emotional yet strong one. Raven sat quietly on the couch while Gar comforted the lost girl, lightening the mood when he could. Victor was off figuring out something, and Raven tried comforting herself with thinking that they were still Titans-even Terra. And that familiarity, that reminder of all the missions and enemies they had faced made all of this much more bearable.

Raven rolled up the sleeves to her black sweater. They had changed, and maybe that was good. Her purple eyes fell back to the green man. _Maybe we needed time apart so that we could realize what we had._

"Look, all I know is that they need the Egg for her." He gestured again to Terra.

Whatever thoughts that were in Raven's mind vanished with Red X's words. Everyone became silent and slowly turned to Terra.

"Me?" The young girl shook her head, "I don't understand. Why would they need something like that for me?"

"Because they need your powers, Terra." Nightwing's hand clenched into a fist. "Damn it. What is Slade thinking?"

Terra still didn't grasp it. "But how would this...Egg help me with my powers? They're gone. They're not coming..."

"No...they can come back." Gar bit his lip. The changeling sat on the arm of her chair and looked at the blonde girl soothingly. "Cy said that the Egg was incredibly...what was that word? Mutable? Yeah, mutable. He said it could mimic the genetic structure of any cell. And if there's the slightest..." Gar's green eyes became very sharp. "Do you have _any_ control of your powers? And I mean anything. Like the slightest even vibration of sand."

Terra shook her head, "No, I don't. Well..." She paused and sighed. "Only. And I mean only, if I get really angry. I mean, furious, pebbles do move. But only a little bit. It isn't anything like before I met Trigon..."

Raven stood up, "Trigon?"

"Guys, calm down. We're straying." Nightwing shot Raven a glance. "Sit down."

She didn't want to. The empath basically felt like exploding just _thinking_ of the idea of Terra and her father partnering up about anything. Her blood rushed, and Raven felt hot, but she listened. There was something about Nightwing that just begged obedience, and she knew that he was right. She thanked Azar that the demon in her was calmed. Windows would be breaking everywhere if it hadn't been. "Fine. But I am not ignoring that little detail."

"No one is asking you to." Gar rubbed his own shoulder, "But NW's right. And I guess so is Red X. They stole the Egg for Terra. If there's a single cell in her that can manipulate rock, then the Egg will make more of them. They need her powers."

The blonde girl gave a weak smile, "Guess that means he doesn't want to kill me."

"Nope." Red X turned to Nightwing. "But explain exactly how the raisin is dangerous again?"

"Not to you." He pointed to Terra and Red X. "You're both coming with me. I can't let Slade get a hold of either of you."

Red X huffed, "And where the heck are you gonna take me Bird Boy?"

"The Watchtower. And this isn't exactly optional." Nightwing's hands were already on his belt, and within seconds, black rope was wrapped around Red X"s hands. Nightwing went up to the villain and clicked off the silver belt for good measure. "This will stay here. Terra, please come with me."

"But..."

"Terra." Gar grabbed the girl's shoulders. "You have to stay safe, okay? Please go with Nightwing. Slade or Ravager can't get to you if you're with the JLA."

Raven suddenly felt uncomfortable. She disliked their interaction. She disliked Terra being in the same room with Gar, but there was no way she'd ever vocalize that thought. _Wally, if only you could see this. Then you'd understand why I haven't said anything to him. _ Both of their past and futures were much too complicated. But her heart hurt all the same. _I know. I have to do something. But not now. I can't...I can't even think about that now with all of this going on. _ She turned her sight away from the changeling and his calming look. He cared for her. Raven could tell. He still cared for Terra, and the action and his voice and everything about it burned the empath's insides. That girl had broken him. The goofy, lovable Beast Boy had been a wreck for too long after she had 'died'. _Go with Nighwing, Terra. Go with him and leave Gar alone. _

It was selfish and awful, but Raven couldn't help but smile a little when Terra nodded her head and stood up. "Of course I'll go. I don't want to help Slade anymore than you guys do."

"Great!" Gar practically jumped. "Thank you Terra!"

"You'll just have to visit."

"Of course!"

"Guys," Raven couldn't help the edge in her voice. "What about the Egg? Why is it so dangerous? And Grant here still owes me Ravager's location."

"Starfire can explain that. I need to get Terra out of here in case this Ravager noticed you two leave the scene. And there is _a lot_ Red X owes me." Nightwing kept a firm hold of the villain's wrist. "We need to make up for lost time."

Red X half-laughed, "Ain't that the truth."

"But I'll let you know as soon as I confirm the veracity. " Nightwing froze a bit. "...if that's okay."

Raven grunted. Her former leader did like doing things his way. "Like I have a choice?"

"It's decided then. Terra, let's go. I'll be back shortly."

The three of the five people left in the main room exited, albeit one a little more reluctantly than the other two. Gar fell backwards, lying upside down in the chair Terra had previously occupied. "...Well if that wasn't a doozy."

"Yeah." She was still distracted being left alone with him, but she welcomed talking about what was currently concerning most of the Titans. "So they want the Egg for her powers?"

"Crazyness."

"But her powers for what?"

Gar shrugged, "Beats me, Rave. Shot not catching Star up on all of this. My brain hurts." He rolled forward, purposely falling on the floor and making Raven stiffen as he crashed. "So..." He sat up cross-legged. "A bomb, huh?"

"It was nothing."

"Rave, a bomb is not _nothing_. You could have gotten hurt." He paused, waiting for Raven to offer some sort of degree of comfort, but she didn't. "Well, did you?"

"I'm fine."

"And Wally?"

Raven shrugged, "Also fine."

"And..." Gar cleared his throat. "You _and_ Wally?"

She didn't answer right away. It was an opening- a clear opening. But after seeing him and Terra together, she was more than a little reluctant to take it. It would have been easy to say that she and Wally actually _were nothing_. That even though a little part of her had hoped for something from the speedster, a much larger, stronger part of her was glad that it never came to fruition. That maybe her and Wally were nothing, but her and him could be... "Garfield..."

There was a knock on the door and then a large bump as it swung open, never having been locked, as Wally West walked in. He threw another round of potato chips into his mouth from the bag he was holding, and then slouched on the couch next to the empath. "Give me a little more notice when you decide to ditch the scene and head back, would you Raven? I was halfway there when you called and had to stop for some grub. I knew I should have ordered that extra pizza." He glanced to Gar on the floor and then looked to Raven. Seeing neither of their faces cracking, Flash lowered the full red mask from his face. "What did I miss?"

* * *

><p>AN:

I know some of you guessed it, and I hope that to those who did that it turned out similarly to how you thought. Or not. That would be cool as well. There may be some confusion with this chapter and what exactly is going on...and future chapters will explain. But feel free to ask stuff! And I will explain things that...I can. ...That sounds unhelpful.

Hope you enjoyed! I'll get writing!


	16. Ties that Bind

A/N:

Late. I know. Busy busy 4th of July weekend traveling and staying in different cities. Oof. This will make up for it (maybe).

Wonderful reviewers are wonderful:

_Playsintherainicorn: _I like complicated as well! As long as everyone understands it..so I'm glad to hear you like it too :)

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne_: The Wilsons should have a family portrait done while they're all still together. And I'd have to agree with you how Raven is acting. Not a good method. She probably needs to change that.

_horus346_: Oh Wally. Oh BB. Oh Raven. Maybe counseling. Or maybe just a reminder.

_Dancing Eyes: _Why Slade wants Terra's powers is a good question that the whole team will want to figure out. And I'll have BB do more than that :)

_Katwizzle: _You have been patient my friend.

_Yogi393: _He is! But so is Terra technically so, eh. This is more like some weird alternate comic/cartoon universe anyway that I'm going with I think. Confusing. AU? And Wow. Your comment about the Egg...well...um, just read and see :)

_MelonLord28: _Their heads could crack the plot open like an egg. And yay! I'm so glad Red X is believable! That was a big thing for me.

_Miss Topaz: _That'd be interesting to know who the producers/writers originally intended Red X to be. I actually heard that he had an identity, though it's possible he was just a foil to Robin. Idk. And Terra. She's an interesting character and I wouldn't discount her loyalties! (but her loyalty to who?) He does look like a pothead! I'm a little disappointed to that it isn't looking like a continuation. But here's still hoping that the art style manages to change! But I'll still watch it. I still love the characters.

_Sofia Michelle: _Wally just has terrible timing. And I can at least promise that Jinx will make an appearance!

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 14: Ties that Bind<em>

Wally absorbed it all in silently. He nodded once and a while, face shifting through different emotions now or then, but for the most part, the speedster seemed completely stoic. It was only when Raven had finished talking that the Flash leaned back in the couch and said, "Well, that's good."

That wouldn't have been the exact way Gar would describe it, but the changeling supposed he had a point. "...Yeah, at least we know what we're in for."

"Trigon ." Raven stared at him, alarmed. The mention of her father had put her on edge, and even though she seemed to be calm, Gar could see she was a bit shaken. That was something no one wanted to relive. Ever. "He isn't..."

"Relax, Rave. She didn't mean recently. It was mostly Slade, back when...well, you know." He squirmed at the memory. "He isn't coming back."

She didn't seem as confident. "He just needed her powers gone...but why? Why not just let her come back?"

"Hey."

Her head shot up at Gar's somewhat stern tone. Ignoring the Flash, forgetting that the other man was in the room, Gar moved from his seat on the floor and sat on the glass coffee table. He grabbed Raven's hand feeling how smooth they were through his gloves. _I don't want her to be scared. _He allowed himself to look at them for a second before catching her eyes. Gar needed her to understand. "Raven, get out of your own head. Focus on this." His face warmed a bit. "On just what we know."

"It's hard for me still to just accept that he's gone, Garfield." She moved her hands within his own. "I thought Slade was gone. I thought Terra was dead, but both of them..."

"You're being ridiculous." He smiled. "Seriously, Rave. You have to just take things as they come. No fear. No worry. Don't even bother with those feelings because I'm here." His green eyes caught Flash next to him. "...We're here. And I don't need you being distracted Got it?"

Raven crossed her arms, "And what about you?"

_Huh?_ "What about me?"

"We need to talk, Gar, about your powers."

Wally stood up and stretched. "Not trying to sound like a third wheel or anything, but think you guys have a lot more to talk about than powers. Right, Rachel?"

Gar's heart quickened, and whatever volatility he was feeling for the speedster vanished when the words began to sink in. _If she's ready to talk I am. _ He felt his eyes tighten as he narrowed them on her face.

All of their heads twisted as the door to the bedroom creaked open and an orange alien emerged, hands holding her arms and dark circles highlighting the bottom of her eyes. "Is everyone gone?" Her green eyes brightened when she caught the hero dressed in red. "Wally! It is most pleasant to see you again!"

"Hey!" Wally gave the Tamaranean a hug and then grabbed her hand, "Starfire, I wanted to ask you some stuff. Catch up. Maybe we can talk inside or go..."

"But is it not important to discuss what has just occurred?"

Wally shrugged, "Is it?"

"Yes, it is." Raven stood and broke her connection from Gar but not before saying, "I promise we'll talk about everything."

The meaning behind her words didn't go unnoticed. "Raven?"

"But later. Okay?"

He was just shocked she was bringing it up at all. "Yeah. Alright...that would be um...cool." Gar had to cough to keep his throat from cracking. He tore his green eyes away from her. "And Star. You didn't miss much. Just Red X actually being Slade's son and Slade making a deal with Trigon about Terra's powers. NW went to interrogate Red and keep Terra safe in the Watchtower."

She nodded, "I heard all of that through the door. I am sorry to say but I had lied about taking the nap. I am just," Starfire breathed out slowly, her shoulders falling a bit. Gar hated seeing her like this. He was used to the alien being nothing but sunshine, but the light in her face was dulled. "I am tired. It is just not in the usual way. This is just a lot to handle."

"Kory, you're handling all of this well. Better than I ever could." Raven went over to her friend and in a surprising act of emotion, gently hugged her. "If you want to explain everything to us later, that's fine. You should actually rest. Your health is important."

Starfire shook her head. "Thank you, Raven. But I will explain. To be honest, these circumstances only help with the anger in me which as you know strengthen my powers. Dick will want us to mobilize as soon as possible as well."

Both the Flash and Raven immediately froze when Starfire mentioned the name, but Gar just looked puzzled. "Who's that?"

"He told you?" Raven stepped back.

"Finally. Uncle Barry let it spill awhile ago and I swore the kid was gonna kill me when he found out..."

Gar turned his head to both of them. "I don't get it."

"Nightwing is Dick." Starfire turned to the changeling, but Gar just chuckled remembering the moment in the Bat Cave.

"Ha, Star." _She still needs to work on her English._ "That was a joke. NW isn't really that much of a jer..."

"She doesn't mean it like that, Gar." Raven interrupted. "His name is Richard. Or Dick Grayson."

The green man paused and felt his lungs press inward, sucking in all the air. That name was familiar to him. Hell, it was familiar to anyone who paid attention to tabloids or the news or pop culture at all. Bruce Wayne and his heir, Dick Grayson, were known to high society as callous, though charming socialites. And it was more than one occasion that the changeling had wished he had the option of going on yachts or jets or...whatever with a bunch of models.

And then the thoughts clicked.

"No way. You mean _Robin_? Uptight, ridiculously responsible, paranoid-no offense, Star- _Nighwing_ is Dick Grayson?"

Starfire rubbed her arms, "It appears that you have heard of his true identity before, yes?"

"Heck yes! And wait, wait, wait. That means _Bruce Wayne_ is _Batman_? Nuts. Absolutely crazy!" He was practically reeling from the news. He knew _Dick Grayson _personally? He was best friends with him?

Raven sniffed, "And now you know why I never told you."

He ignored her comment and ran a hand through his hair, "Dude, that blew my mind. Wow. Nightwing is Dick Grayson. What an awesome cover. Man, lucky kid."

"I fail to see the luck in which you speak of." Starfire moved from Raven and sat on the couch. "It is this high profile identity that made our relationship so hard to begin with, or so Dick has said. But please, that is not what we should be discussing. After Dick had told me this, we went back to the Watchtower. He had received news from one of the Green Lanterns. Tamaran is apparently a part of his jurisdiction with Earth."

Gar nodded his head but looked to the JLA members for more specific detail. He knew a little about the Corp. But that was only a little. And he guessed Starfire could either see the blatant confusion on his face or she felt the need to explain it out loud. "The Green Lantern has looked at the...condition of my planet. He had consulted with the other Lanterns and his elders and they have decided they know what happened."

"Well that's great!" Gar bit his lip. "I mean that only in the way that we can figure this out. Not that I'm actually happy that Tamaran...um..."

"I understand, Beast Boy. It has also puzzled me greatly of how my planet was destroyed. But Dick explained what the Lantern has said to the both of us. There was no enemy attack or natural disaster. Tamaran was ill."

"Ill?" Raven questioned. "How is that even possible?"

Starfire shook her head, unsure, but continued, "There is an alien life form that feeds off a planet's energy. It is most...disturbing to think of, but this creature devours the life-force from planets like a hindlestorken from a grupleberg."

The alien paused, as if this comparison was supposed to create some dramatic tension. But the metaphor fell deafly. "Did you guys get that?" Flash blinked.

Gar didn't, not really, but Raven eventually did. And whatever she had figured out, it caused her face to grow even paler. He purple eyes became large and round and so very concerned looking, that Gar went up to her again and placed a green hand on her forearm. "Rave?"

"What Nightwing told Red X..." She turned back to Gar, "About the Egg."

_No..._ He bit his lip. The full picture was finally forming in his head as well. "He said Red X would be responsible for killing a lot of people."

"Because of the Egg."

"Yes." Starfire nodded between them, her voice low but strong. "It is that creature of which I speak of. This Egg is not an egg, but a parasite."

_No, no. That doesn't make sense. _ Gar grabbed at his belt, taking the yellow communicator from his hand. "Vic will explain this. That can't be true. You're saying that raisin-the thing that's also supposed to give Terra her powers can also kill us all?" He shook his head.

Starfire looked even sadder. "Are you saying you do not believe me, Beast Boy?"

"No! Star, it's just..." He rubbed his eyes. "God, this has all been too crazy. And this is just another bomb."

"It is my understanding that the parasite does not act like a bomb at all. It is a slow, irreversible..."

"Not what I meant." Gar grinned, "But hey, I guess that's a step up, huh? Slow."

Raven crossed her arms, "And irreversible. Tell me it's not too late, Kory."

"I cannot. I do not know how this creature functions." Starfire's eyes drifted downwards. "But it is my understanding from Dick's conversation on the phone just now that the Egg is in fact the parasite. I am sorry, my friends. If this has anything to do with my coming..."

Gar touched her shoulders. He couldn't let Starfire blame herself for this...whatever it was. "Don't say anything like that, Star. We've faced worse. Dude, we faced the end of the world itself and we're all still here. No raisin thing can stop us from that."

There were no reassuring words from anyone else in the room. Raven was lost to her own thoughts again, and soon she retreated back into the bedroom to change into her uniform. Wally fell back on the couch and ate a protein bar. Starfire still looked worn out and spread thin. "Star?" Gar walked up to the Tamaranean who had wandered towards one of the windows. Her green eyes tore at the Gotham streets, watching the cars on the roads-a mirror image of the stars that would have shown if not for the clouds.

"Yes, Beast Boy?" She didn't turn.

"I'm gonna call, Cy...find out some more stuff. But, uh, could you do me a favor?"

Starfire turned around at that, "Would you like me to talk to Raven for you? I have seen the tension between you two and it is most unpleasant. I can assure her that..."

"No." It was a nice offer, but Gar didn't want anyone to talk to Raven for him. He wanted to talk to the girl herself. "I just thought that while I talked to Cyborg, maybe you could make me some uh, pudding?"

Her face immediately glowed from the suggestion, and Gar felt his own chest hum from putting a smile back on her face. It was a relief to see her like that again, and Starfire finally looked like herself again. "It would be wonderful to make the pudding for you! Shall I make the Pudding of Sadness to reflect out situation?"

"No." Gar didn't want any reminder. "Anything but that."

"As you wish!" And the Tamaranean flew into the kitchen, her emotions finally settling back into a more familiar equilibrium.

* * *

><p>He got more than a couple of glances when he walked through the hallway. Nightwing was pretty sure that the JLA was now familiar with him being in the vicinity, but probably not with a villain and a civilian girl by his side. <em>Who to drop off first?<em>

"Donna!"

Wonder Girl immediately turned, the sparkles of her top catching the dismal lighting. "Nightwing? What are you..."

"I don't really have the time to talk right now. Have you met Terra?"

The brunette raised an un-amused eyebrow. "Only heard of her."

"Great. Can you just take her to Batman? He'll know what to do. Is there an open interrogation room?"

Wonder Girl gestured a thumb down the hallway, "Room C should be clear, but Nightwing, what's going on? Oh, don't tell me this has to do with Tamaran and the princess."

"Partially." He held firmly onto Red X's wrists. "Thanks, Donna. I owe you. Terra, I'll come back for you later. Let me just settle this first."Nightwing jostled his hold on Red X, "Let's go."

"Right, right, Rob. Calm down," the thief practically sneered. "I'll tell you what you want to know right here and right now. No need for a special room. Unless you want to be alone..."

Nightwing ignored the taunts and kept walking forward. He concentrated on his footsteps, the soft echoes across the walls and his firm hold on Red X's suit-on _his_ suit. Nightwing still didn't understand how this had all happened. He was stupid for becoming a villain to try and get close to Slade, and he was even stupider for failing to tell his teammates, his friends, what he was doing. But then to not destroy it? Sure, he had thought it was safe behind locked doors in the Tower, but obviously he had been wrong. Obviously that damn suit had to come back and bite him in the ass multiple times. Including now.

Red X wasn't lagging behind or giving him a hard time at all. He followed Nightwing briskly, not struggling and no longer talking, and that put the former Boy Wonder even more on edge. Room C wasn't far away, and soon, Nightwing let go of Grant Wilson and pushed him into the room. The thief stumbled but caught himself before falling. "Don't I get a phone call?"

"First things first." Nightwing didn't move to sit but waited for Red X to take a seat in the pretty barren room. There was one table. No one way mirrors. No cameras. Just a table, a chair, and the two men. "Where's Ravager?"

"Jump City." Red X yawned. "At least she should be heading back there. Slade has access to an old teleportation device that allows us to travel around. She's a smart one. Dangerous and _nuts_. Probably figured out that I jumped ship and she's running back to dear old dad."

"Grant." The hero paced around, his mind turning. "Why are you doing this?"

Grant's blue eyes flickered, "Didn't I already tell you why?"

"But they're your family."

"And they're crazy!" Red X stood up. "But you already know that. Hell, I knew that too. Well I should have. I should have realized it."

Nightwing caught on to his shift in tones, and the detective in him wanted to expose every single detail. He glanced at Grant's eyes, a thin shade of blue so like his own. And within their depths, he saw how broken they were. Whatever confidence that mask gave him was unhidden under the artificial lighting of the interrogation room. Grant Wilson was open to him. Exposed and naked. "You said you didn't know Slade while you were growing up."

"Yup."

"Yet he trained you?"

Grant shifted in the seat, "To a degree."

"Did you realize he was your father?"

The thief shook his head, "Not initially. I don't know if you remember this, but there was a time when Deathstroke wasn't exactly a bad guy. He was more of a mercenary; Slade Wilson was once in the army too. And I thought our name was coincidence, but my mom eventually told me when I was around 12. I..." Grant moved both his hands in a single motion, Nightwing's wires still binding his hands. "In a world of super heroes, you kind of want to be special too. My dad was special. I just didn't realize he was on the wrong side of things."

Nightwing couldn't help but grunt, "You? _You_ wanted to be a hero?"

"All villains are heroes to someone." Grant's eyes became serious. "It's perception, Rob. And don't stand there and pretend that you haven't done anything wrong. Get off your damn high horse and realize that you've done worst crimes than me."

Dick Grayson was silent. His intention of cracking Grant Wilson this way wasn't working, and Nightwing was realizing that maybe he was trying too hard. _I need to end this before he starts getting to me_. It was no secret that Nightwing saw a little too much of himself in Red X. Not just the suit, but the crimes, the abilities. That could have easily been his life. "What does Slade want with Terra?"

"Her powers, duh." Red X said obviously. "But what does he want her powers for? Not so sure. But..." His blue eyes thought to something, "Maybe he doesn't want them for one thing at all."

"You're not making sense."

The thief didn't exactly elaborate, "Everyone wants to be a hero, Bird Boy." He paused, "I'm really just trying to help."

"Well...thank you." The words felt rough in his mouth, but Nightwing didn't regret saying them. "Who knows. Keep this up and maybe the JLA would..."

"Psh." Red X leaned back in the chair. "I gave up on that dream. Stealing things and pissing you off is way more fun. I like walking the line between the good and the bad."

Dick crossed his arms, "Tightropes can be dangerous."

"And so can allies. I keep no alliance. Not to you or Slade. Make no mistake of that."

There was a waiver to the man's voice that Nightwing wanted to probe. But time led him to different goals, and he found himself already heading towards the exit. "There's a security system in here. You won't be able to leave this room."

Grant lifted a blond eyebrow, "Will I at least get dinner?"

"Yes, pot roast. I can't promise it's any good though." Nightwing turned to the door, leaving Red X in the chair when his name dragged him back to face the man. He looked to human in that chair, Nightwing realized. Too much like a man and less like the shadow the hero thought he was. "What is it?"

"When you find Slade again, ask him why he did what he did. ...Why he did that to Joey."

_Joey? _ Nightwing nodded, finding no more answers in Grant's eyes or face and left the room. Terra was next. He had to make sure the girl was safe and comfortable. _But first I have a call to make._

* * *

><p>"Dick insists that we head back to Jump City." Starfire was already placing the yellow communicator back onto her purple uniform. Raven had reemerged from the room, but Gar knew they still wouldn't get a chance to talk. <em>This is more important. This is more important. <em> Though no matter how often the changeling recited it to himself, it just seemed to be doing the opposite. _No wonder NW never wanted us to date anybody. _He watched as Raven moved the cloak away from her body, revealing the front of her skintight uniform. _Great. That's not distracting at all. Nope._

"We should take the teleportation device located in the building." Raven suggested before anyone else could insist on other ways of travel. "Has anyone told Victor?"

"I'll send him a text right now. He responds better to those, and don't really feel like explaining everything on the phone right now. Ha." Gar brought out his own communicator and texted his best friend. "You feeling okay though? Not still weak from before?"

"A little to be honest. But it should pass soon. If Slade is actually located in Jump City, we need to find him before he does something too rash."

Flash munched on his bar, "Like destroying the planet?"

"You could say that. I just want to conserve as much energy as possible."

"Then we'll go out first." Gar grabbed the keys to the apartment and led all the heroes out the door and to the maintenance closet next door. Locking the apartment behind him, the green changeling gave the bits of metal an amused toss to Raven who scrambled to catch them. "Star, Flash, and I will try to locate the base and then we'll watch over his activities. Keep tabs. Make sure there are no explosions. All until you get better and Cy and Nightwing arrive. Then we attack full on-in full Titans style!" Gar glanced to Wally, "...Plus him."

Starfire nodded and unlocked the maintenance closet with the passcode. "I agree with Beast Boy's plan. It is a good idea to wait for our friends to arrive before we attack Slade."

"Fine." Gar grinned at Raven's seemingly easy agreement. He hadn't really expected that from her; she wasn't the type to stand down and let her friends fight without her. "But Beast Boy, you need to stay with me."

That was it. He was going to die of shock. "Huh?"

"Guys, I set the coordinates." Wally turned from the machine. "Shall we go? Alien princesses first!" The Flash held out a hand and let Starfire into the machine. It could only carry two at a time, and soon Gar and Wally were following the two girls into Jump City.

Gar refocused his eyes when the bright light vanished to reveal the inner rooms of the tower. Automatically, a series of bright lights began flashing-the security system being triggered. Wally paled, "Er, what now?"

_Ugh, what was that stupid password again? _ Cyborg had changed it several times, but they were all just variations of one, narcissistic theme. "King Cyborg has returned to his castle!"

The red lights vanished, the booming alarms gone, and Gar wiped his head in fake relief. Starfire glanced around the tower, and Gar knew the expression on her face was a duplication of his when he first came back to their home. _Our old home_. He walked next to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's weird, right? They do tours here and wanted to keep it...similar to how it was when we lived here."

"It is..." Her green eyes absorbed the common room easily, brushing over every detail until they landed on Jump City's skyline outside. "...good to see it again."

"If you want to take a moment, Star, I'm sure..."

"No." She shook her head and smiled. "I wish peace for this world as soon as possible. It would be selfish to spend time here when this planet is in danger. The Flash and I will be back." Starfire turned her attention to the speedster. "Do you know Jump City well?"

"Decently," Wally shrugged.

"We will stop at the tourist stores and acquire you a map. I will mark Slade's old locations and we can divide them."

"Call back if you see anything." Raven was quick to put in. "And I mean anything."

Wally took something from his uniform that Gar had failed to notice before. It was a Titans' communicator-an honorary one. Gar had almost forgotten that he was once Kid Flash-this had been the boy that fell for Jinx of all people. His gut twisted with something akin to guilt. "JLA or Titans communicator?"

"Titans." Raven said. "We all have those and they're a lot less annoying then something buzzing in your ear." She paused and stood stiffly, hood away from the sharpness in her eyes. "Well? Shouldn't you guys..."

"Right! Yeah! See ya!" Flash grabbed Star's hand and soon was off and out of the Tower.

Gar jumped at the sudden change. His throat felt caught and scratchy knowing he was alone with Raven-knowing that...that... He blinked, "What are you doing?"

The empath was walking towards the main computer and seemed to be using the phone interface. She didn't turn to answer Gar's question, but she did all the same. "Calling the PR company that handles the tours. I don't want some tourist group coming in while we're here."

_Same. _ Gar jumped on the couch and reclined. His mind strayed a bit to Terra at the Watchtower and what exactly Nightwing was doing with Red X. Gar couldn't help but feel bad for the thief-to some degree. His father had been a biologist-a respectable man that saved his life. The changeling couldn't imagine having someone like Slade for a dad. That could really screw a guy up. His eyes caught Raven again as she placed down the phone. _Or you can turn it into your strength. Your drive._ "What'd they say?"

"They'll cancel all the tour visits for the week."

"Great."

"Yeah."

He waited for her to say more, but she didn't. Raven glanced at him, swallowed, inhaled, and then moved to the kitchen. She adeptly opened the cabinets, one after another, her actions becoming more and more rushed as she continued. "Beast Boy?"

His ears perked at the call, "Hm?"

"Where's my tea?"

He didn't know. And to be honest, he was a little disappointed at the question. "Um, not here?"

"But it was always..."

"We moved Raven. Why would they keep food in our cabinets?"

Her hands fell away from the shelves and turned to him. "You're right. I don't know what I was thinking."

Gar stood up, "I think I do." He crossed his arms and approached her, each step slow and even. "You're procrastinating."

She raised an eyebrow, "Am I?"

"Yup. I would know. I'm a professional procrastinator. Have been doing it for what...7 years? More?" He laughed but that didn't manage to release her tension. He noticed how stiff her shoulders were, high-raised to almost cheekbone level, but he doubted Raven even noticed. Her purple eyes constantly tore away from him and Gar cleared whatever phlegm occupied his throat. "I want to talk, Raven. I know you do too."

"The roof?" She suggested, still not looking at him.

"No." That got her attention. Gar grabbed her hand and she easily followed him outside on the lower level.

He didn't remember the rocks being this uneven before, and he completely lost all sense of time-being in a dark city constantly did that to you. It must have been late in Gotham, for even this out west the sun was still completely gone. There were no clouds here. Just moon and stars and other things that the changeling really wasn't paying attention to. This place stung with too many memories. Water in general always made him stop and hesitate, and it was the one thing that really made his mind seem to...work.

Raven dropped his hand and took his lead over the rocks, her cape flapping in the bit of sea breeze. They were slippery, but they were both agile. He noticed she failed to levitate. _She must really be trying to conserve her energy._"You want to talk back here?"

"Yeah," His voice sounded so meek under the sound of crashing waves.

She turned and smiled just barely, "I think this is where..."

"Raven?"

The empath didn't seem to want to continue that thought. "Your powers, Gar. When did you find them...harder to control?"

He wasn't certain about that. He thought back to his Titans day, when they were in their prime, well at least he was. He was young, athletic. He could morph from an ant to an elephant within a second, with a simple thought, and he wondered when that started to change. Gar still wasn't old. He was still athletic. Nothing happened that... The thought crunched through his head. "The Sakutia..."

"No, no." Raven shook her head and approached him. She must have sensed his sudden fear for she was actually looking him now, purple looking dark blue and indigo and black in the night. "It's not that. Cyborg talked to me."

"What did he say?'

There was a flash of something, and Raven breathed. She grabbed his hands-gloved skin touching gloved skin. Gar suddenly didn't care whatever she was going to say to him. Whatever it was wouldn't be as important as her hand holding his, so warm and small and seemingly unwilling. She was reluctant and scared, and Gar realized in his own confusion that he was too. They had done this before. This wouldn't be the first time, and he knew Raven remembered that moment. Her eyes didn't lie even when her words failed to say it.

But there was something about this moment that seemed more real-more concrete. There would be no running. There was no separation, no toxin dividing this from anything but reality. _This is real. _Gar took her other hand. _This is happening. _ "You don't have to, Raven. Raven..."

She stopped him with a kiss, soft and slow, both of their lips puckering from the contact. He could taste her hesitation, the fear and doubt that she was feeling something strong enough to warrant this. But despite all that, Gar responded fully. He moved his gloved hand to her back, to her hair, encircling the other under her cape and around her waist.

Whatever memory he had of kissing her was nothing like this. There was no blur or flashing lights, no explosions or fireworks. She was practically shaking, and Gar moved his hands to her shoulders to steady her, her own wrapped around his neck as if he were about to fall. But he wouldn't let that happen. Gar wanted this too badly, _had _wanted this for too long to ruin it with something like that. He went easier with her, keeping his mouth focused on only her own and letting her dictate. She was so nervous, and Gar was smiling underneath it all.

It ended sooner then he would have liked, but Raven only moved an inch away from his lips. She rested her head on his shoulder, "You're strong, Garfield. Stronger than I am. I want you to remember that. I want you to remember this." Raven kissed him again on the cheek and left him on the rocks.

His chest seemed somehow heavier from that, but Gar couldn't help but grin. He grinned and grinned even as she left him in the dark and went back to the bright giant T in front of him. "Dude." He exhaled. "She can't just leave after _that_."

* * *

><p>AN:

Thanks for reading everyone :) Hope you enjoyed!


	17. Speechless

A/N:

This one's a little shorter but I felt like ending it here so I'm not sorry. Oh well. Thanks for all of my amazing readers and reviewers for continuing to be so amazing! Special special thanks to last chapter's reviewers"

_horus346: _I'm not exactly sure how accurate I'm portraying Red X at all with his true intentions (whatever those might be). Especially after this chapter. And yes. BB and Raven are making full blown progress. All they needed was a little thing like the end of the world to get the ball rolling! Thanks! 

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: _Your questions will be answered! I promise!

_MelonLord28: _Ha! love it. The perfect facial expression indeed. And oh, yes. It's versatile nature will come into play. and not exactly in the best of ways...

_Katwizzle: _Phew! So glad it was worth the wait! And hahaha, glad to see I brought up the anticipation factor! Thanks!

_The Cretin_: Glad to see you joined the club! It must be easier to track stories now, yes? And Raven's a bit possessive, as you might have assumed from the chapter after that review. And thanks so much for the comment about Grant! I wasn't sure about where exactly I was taking his character, but I really liked the outcome of it. It makes me want to write to the producers of the show and send them a characterization/story arc. Ha. That'd be effective. And you're exactly right about Terra. She shouldn't run away from the past. It'll always catch up. I am also ashamed to admit that I have been a bad fangirl and have not caught up with the Ravagers. Should I stop everything and buy a copy now? I feel so guilty. And as for your next review, thanks so much! I love dialogue and I love BB, and he's so fun to write. Saying I've had no real flaws is insanely flattering, and I thank you. And seriously no worries about missing a chap. You're kind enough to review all of my chapters, which is stellar within itself.

_Sofia Michelle: _Raven, Raven, Raven. I guess we can only hope for so much at once. And me, being the worst fangirl ever, was so confused by Flinx for the longest time. But now I understand. And I am slightly excited too.

_Miss Topaz: _Traveling has been nice! But I agree with you. Summer shouldn't be busier than school. It just doesn't feel right. HAHA. I guess ending the chapter like that was sort of mean, but I hope this one makes up for it! I would feel so incredibly...err, incredible if Red X were revealed to be Grant and the basis for his identity were some semblance similar to mine. That'd be so cool. But yes, unlikely D:

_Guest: _It does seem like something she would do, doesn't it?

_Playsintherainicorn: _HAHA. I actually laughed out loud when I read that one. Happy to hear the last chapter made you happy!

_Dancing Eyes: _Thanks for the progression compliment and for commenting about Joey! I was wondering if people cared at all about him...

Thanksthanksthanks guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans nor any other character/location from DC comics.

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><p><em>Chapter 15: Speechless<br>_

"Terra."

The girl shifted from her seat on the metal bench. Her blonde hair sprawled all over her shoulders, catching the artificial lighting in the cell. Nightwing raised an eyebrow and approached her. "...Batman put you in here?"

"Wonder Girl put me in here." She stood up and crossed her arms, "Jeez, it's cold up in space. Think you could get me some hot chocolate?"

"I'll do you one better and get you out of a holding cell." Nightwing led her outside not really too surprised by Donna's actions. She had been an honorary Titan too, and as most honorary Titans did, she had heard of the rather confusing story that surrounded Terra. But he had asked her to bring Terra to Batman, not here. "And Batman was..."

"Looking up files."

Nightwing turned to face his mentor and adopted father. The cowl still blocked most of his face, but Nighwing could tell immediately that Batman wanted to talk to him. "Is everything alright?"

He gave Nightwing a look and then turned to Terra, "Please let me speak to my protégée alone."

"Uh, sure." She seemed taken aback by his abruptness, but Nightwing wasn't overly shocked by the statement. Batman never did like to share too much information with anyone.

The Dark Knight grabbed Nightwing by the shoulder and shut the cell door with Terra still inside. He turned back to the solid structure, placing a hand flat against the grey wall. "These cells should block out all noise from the outside. She won't be able to hear us."

"Batman, I don't understand."

"Grant Wilson." It was then Nightwing noticed that the man was carrying four manila envelopes. "Terra Markov." Batman handed two of the files to the younger man and eyed him evenly. "I expect you to do more research about your enemies."

_They're hardly enemies. _Nightwing flipped open the first folder and was surprised to see most of the facts surrounding this man was laid out in front of him, in perfect black and white. Batman vocalized his thoughts before Nightwing could even think them. "No, I didn't know he was Red X before. That was added to the file this morning."

Dick flipped through the papers causally, "Then why did you have a file on him at all?"

"Rose Wilson and Joseph Wilson." Batman handed the other files over. "All children of Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke the Terminator. They don't call me the greatest detective in the world for no reason."

_Joseph Wilson? _ Nightwing opened that file immediately, remembering what Grant had told him. "There's a third one?"

"And you may know him better than the other two."

"What? But..." His words fell flat when he saw the alias under the name-an alias he did know too well. "Jericho..."

"An honorary Titan. A part of the team you used to run." It was hard for Batman to hide the disappointment in his voice. "And then there's Terra."

Nightwing barely registered the next statement. He was too shaken by the other fact-that someone like Jericho could be related to _Slade_. He poured over the file again, but the facts were straightforward, clear, and right in front of him. _The relationship does not make him a bad person. _ He remembered a series of heroes that turned to good because of evil in their families. Raven was one of them, and who was to say Jericho wasn't one either? _This doesn't change anything. _ He placed the papers back in the envelope. "What about Terra?"

"A drifter. Almost untraceable."

"And?"

Batman didn't cut corners. "You're positive you can trust her?"

_No. _ But what other choice did he have? He needed to keep her out of Slade's reach, and the girl did save their lives. She did come willingly, and quite frankly, gave Nightwing no other option _but_ to trust her. Yet the former Boy Wonder hated the doubt in Batman's voice, and he hated his own instinct being rather wishy-washy about the earth bender as well. "She's suddenly dangerous because you can't find anything bad about her?"

"Do you trust her?" Batman repeated.

"No." There was no getting passed it. "I don't. And neither do you or Donna or half of my old team, but what should I do with her? If she's trouble, what better place to bring her then a base with practically every hero there is?"

The Dark Knight crossed his arms, "You brought her to a base once before. And we all remember how that ended."

He gritted his teeth, "Badly. I realize, but Batman, I can't let Slade find her. That isn't an option. I'm sure Hal told you. You know what the Egg can do when it...hatches. Slade can't get to her."

"Agreed." Batman held out his hands and waited for Nightwing to hand him back all of the files. His white eyes caught Nightwing's immediately. "But you just have to be sure that she doesn't get to Slade."

* * *

><p>She wasn't surprised to hear the faint murmur of footsteps behind her that only seemed to increase in ferocity and pace as she headed further and further into the Titans Tower. Gar was practically hollering behind her, yelling things like 'Raven, you can't just <em>go<em>.' Or 'Rave, I wasn't that bad, was I?'

And of course she wasn't leaving. And of course he wasn't that bad. He wasn't bad at all. Gar was, in fact, the exact opposite of 'that bad', but she wouldn't stop to tell him so. Not that she had really a chance to stop at her own free will anyway, for soon the changeling had caught up to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks and forcing her to turn around and face him. Her eyes flashed downwards.

Gar was still red in the face. It was still obvious even on his green skin. His ears were perfectly pointed, his mouth still a wide smile, but his eyes were what scared her the most. His eyes and his emotions. They both said the same thing. They were confused, excited, and had a strong feeling attached to them that she couldn't figure out. Raven just stood idly. She would let him speak.

"You..." He dropped his hand from her body and ran it through his hair again, nervous. "You can't just...I mean...you and I...we kissed... and..."

She sighed. Raven was relying on him to verbalize his feelings, but that didn't seem to be too effective. "Beast Boy, spit it out."

Her bluntness made him find his voice. "You can't just...kiss me and leave. You just can't." He was practically pouting now. _He's such a little kid. _"It isn't fair."

Raven crossed her arms, "_Fair?" _She was sort of annoyed. This wasn't some game to her. "That wasn't about being fair."

"Then what was it about?" Gar's voice became a little firmer. "I'm serious, Rave. I don't know what you're doing. I'm not an empath like you, and although I sort of pride myself with the fact that I can almost-kind-of read you, that's still only almost-kind-of. I don't know if that was just a spur of the moment thing or a lonely thing or a..." He swallowed and linked his own hands together. "And what you said. We...we don't have time for puzzles, Rave. And I'm not so good with them to begin with."

She stared at him, his face contorting with each sentence. Raven didn't like what she was putting his emotions through. The smile seemed to fade from his face, and she knew that Garfield Logan wanted answers. And so did she. It was wrong for her to pretend that she fully understood what she was doing or feeling.

_I like him._

That was undeniable, but it was still a loaded explanation. There was a whole spectrum of feeling associated with a word like 'like'. Raven was pretty sure she was well far past the "like a friend" emotion, but how far? She didn't know. Love was a scary word, and she didn't dare approach that yet. And then there was the whole other reason, the less personal yet crueler one. But that still seemed safer to say. "Partially because what Cyborg told me."

Gar raised an eyebrow, rightfully confused. "You decided to make out with me because of what _Cyborg_ told you?"

"Partially," She insisted.

"Okay...partially." He scratched his head. "And, um, what partial reason could that be?"

Raven inhaled. He wouldn't like this at all. "Your powers."

Gar snorted before laughing, hands falling across his stomach as he said between chuckles, "Am I like _Snow White_? Are you bringing my powers back to the dead _with a kiss_? What do you mean?"

It was a defense mechanism, Raven knew. Gar had always done that. Crack a joke and it doesn't hurt so much. Saying that she kissed him for any reason other than because she wanted to kiss him was biting. But she needed to be honest. "Gar, you know that's not why."

His laughter died, but he didn't ask her to say what she had meant. Gar only looked to her for an explanation, and Raven gratefully gave it. "Your cells are fine. Physically you're..." _Incredible. _"...the same as you were two years ago."

"And you said it wasn't the Sakutia or anything like that."

She hated even thinking about his disease coming back. "Of course not. It's nothing physical at all."

"Then it's..."Gar slapped a palm to his face., it somehow appearing even redder. "I'm an idiot," He said, muffled from under his hand. "Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. God, I knew I wasn't the brightest, but _really_? I really thought that you...that maybe..."

"Gar?" She placed a hand over his own. "What are you thinking?"

"What am _I _thinking?" He shook his head, "Only that these past few years have been pretty crappy. Not saving the world every day, getting bad actor's jobs, and not to mention being separated from you can be a shot to the ego."

"Beast Boy..."

He dropped her hand and moved over to the blue couch which caused Raven to follow. "Not that I'm so hopelessly pathetic to _need_ a girl. But it helps, you know? And let's face it. I've had a crush on you since, well, since I've figured out why the Beast never hurt you. So couple missing you with missing every other friend in my life, and I think I was in a rut."

She nodded beside him. "Mental state has a strong control over powers." Raven knew the truth to that statement all too well. "Even if our powers aren't linked directly to our feelings."

"Yeah, I get that now. I think I was out of practice too. I mean, it does take some energy to change. When I was first learning to do it, I couldn't become anything giant either. Just like...mongooses and wolves and stuff. But definitely no elephants. My body killed again when I tried to fight Red X. And then my head was in just such a weird place, and I thought that I was losing it that maybe I actually _started_ to lose it." Gar blinked, "That's screwed up."

Raven disagreed. "It makes sense. If you're head isn't completely committed to the action, then your body..."

"No." Gar shook his head. "That makes sense. What's screwed up is that you _kissed_ me to give me more confidence." He looked up to her, "That's why you did it, right?"

"No, Gar..."

He smirked, "That's _partially_ why you did it. Don't lie."

She didn't. She chose not to say anything.

Gar understood her silence and dropped his face into his hands. "See? I'm an idiot."

"You're forgetting." Raven slid closer to him, their legs brushing together. She wanted to move away from the heat of his body. There was something about him that always seemed so incredibly warm and bright and comforting. And she realized that she had missed that. She needed that. "That there's another part too."

He sighed, not incredibly optimistic. "And what reason is that?"

Her fingers traced the edge of his face, sliding up to his cheekbones where she stopped. He had some stubble. The fact made her smile within itself. When she had first met Beast Boy, she couldn't imagine a day when he'd have the capacity to grow stubble at all. But then again, she would have never imagined this either. Raven bit her bottom lip. _Breathe. _"Because I wanted to."

It was enough for him to smile again, and the room seemed a thousand times brighter. Gar flashed his white teeth before edging closer to her face. Their noses practically rubbed against one another. Raven dropped her head at the contact, but Gar's lowered voice dragged it back up. "Do you want to again?"

She could only half nod before his lips touched hers. His hands were already behind her head, running through the lilac strands as Raven tried to piece together what exactly was going on. It was still new to her-kissing him. Even though she had just done it and Gar seemed to respond fully, a part of her was still surprised that he liked her so much. _And for so long too. _ She didn't exactly know when Beast Boy became less annoying and more...attractive, but it had happened. The pressure of his lips made her thoughts only half-lucid, but still she couldn't help but think of what he had told her. _He had a crush on me since we were teenagers? _ She smiled against him. Raven couldn't remember a time when she had smiled so much in such a short time frame, and she knew it was because of him. He had tried so long to make her happy, but who knew that the only thing he needed to do was be right beside her?

Gar broke away from Raven's mouth and grinned. "...Um...don't get the wrong idea."

She blinked. That was never a good way to start a conversation. "What?"

"As much as I'd absolutely love to keep doing what..." He kissed her again-just a quick peck. "...we've been doing, I'm sort of starved and need some energy before Flash and Star call back. But I swear we can continue this when I get back. Most definitely. That is only if you um... want to."

"What are you getting?"She realized how right he was. Starfire or Flash could call any minute, and she was really hungry.

"Thinking pizza. Mushrooms?" He twisted his fingers in hers. They felt so warm.

Raven nodded. "Sounds good. Be back soon."

Gar promised he would and stood from the couch. The changeling was just about to leave the door when he called her name again. Raven turned around to face him. "I know how hard that must have been for you, Rave." He kicked imaginary dust with his sneakers. "And I just want to say that you won't regret it. I'll make sure of it. I let you leave two years ago, but not again."

She faintly smiled. "When we're done with this mission, we can talk more about what exactly this is."

"This." He was wearing such a goofy smile on his face."Right, after..." There was a glint in his eyes, and Gar leaned against the doorframe. She didn't know where this sudden cocky look came from. "Would you say we're on a mission right now?"

Was this some sort of trick? "Um, yes?" Raven said flatly.

"Hehe. Funny."

"Gar?"

"During a mission."

She was kneeling on the couch now. Something was wrong with him. "What are you..."

"Just decided to kiss me too." He caught himself smiling and stood up straight when he noticed her glaring purple eyes. "Sorry, Rave. I was just thinking how maybe those comics weren't so far off with some stuff. You just couldn't really help yourself around..."

"Garfield." Her voice was sharp and the changeling fidgeted.

"Hm?"

"Leave. Now."

His shoulders became tighter. "Yes, ma'am!" And Beast Boy sped from the room not before jokingly blowing her a kiss. Raven groaned and turned back around, body sinking into the couch. _Great taste in guys, Raven. _ Her pale fingers traced her upper arm. She could feel the goosebumps even through the uniform. _Great taste. _ And she realized that there was no trace of sarcasm in that thought at all.

* * *

><p>"Where is he?"<p>

The pink haired girl looked at him surprisingly. Nightwing didn't know the exact circumstances that drew Kole and Jericho together, but he figured it was something to do with the Brotherhood of Evil and the original Titans team disbanding. Kole was currently dressed in a white coat with a clipboard. She was also looking at a glass-metal cabinet filled with a variety of ...things Nightwing couldn't really identify. He assumed it was some sort of food for the Tamaraneans staying in a different section of the Watchtower.

Kole placed the clipboard down and smiled despite Nightwing's aggressive tone. "Hey, Nightwing! How have you been? If you see Starfire, tell her thanks for all the suggestions she gave about dietary schedules. It was really..."

"Kole, where is he?"

Now she seemed more confused than anything. "Gnarrk? He hates this kind of..."

"No, Jericho."

Her mouth fell a bit, and Kole turned back to the clipboard and started shuffling through some papers. "Jericho is working with some of the Tamaranean children. He's great with them. I think being mute allows him to read and get to know them deeper than words ever could in such a short time." Her deep blue eyes seemed to sense the urgency and threat behind Nightwing's tone. "Please let me come with you."

"You know why I'm looking for him, don't you?"

"He isn't...they're not even close to being alike."

Nightwing crossed his arms against his black uniform and lowered his head. He didn't mean to sound so hostile. Slade just made him tense. Slade made him furious. "Alright. Bring me to him." The nod caused his black bangs to fall in way of his mask, but he still managed to follow Kole away from the food storage center and down another two hallways until they reached a more domestic part of the space station.

"I'll get him." Kole offered and Nightwing allowed himself to trust her. They were both former Titans, and he needed to remind himself that he did only intend on talking to Jericho and asking him about Grant. Red X's words echoed back to him. _Jericho is Joey. _ The blond haired boy followed Kole out calmly and only smiled when he saw Nightwing waiting for the two outside. Jericho offered Nightwing a hand and the black haired man grinned in return and shook it. "It's nice to see you too, Jericho."

Kole rubbed her arm. "He wants to know what brings you here now, Nightwing. And he...also wishes Starfire well."

"Thanks." Nighwing swallowed. He could already feel the guilt of what he was about to do. The thought of Jericho being anything but good escaped his mind, but he knew the memory behind Grant Wilson's words wasn't a good one. "I just wanted to ask him a question. About his father."

The green in Jericho's eyes immediately dulled when he heard the words. He desperately turned to Kole and gripped her hand, shaking his head wildly. Kole bit her lips and cautiously spoke. "He doesn't want to talk about him."

"I know he's Slade." Nightwing placed a hand on the other man's shoulder. "I know your real name is Joseph Wilson, but Jericho, what did he do to you?"

Kole didn't seem surprised by her boyfriend's identity, and Nightwing understood that he must have already told her. They had known each other for such a short time, but Jericho had still trusted Kole with such a secret. Nightwing was glad he found the courage to do the same with Starfire. Kole grabbed his other hand and calmed Jericho down, whispering in his ear and having him nod in agreement. "He...he tried explaining to me once, Nightwing. He lived with his mother and brother for a long time on a military base. He didn't know his father until much later, and his brother left with Slade for a while leaving him and his mother at home."

"Was that a bad thing?"

Jericho shook his head "no" at Nightwing's question, and Kole continued. "He missed his brother, but he wasn't unhappy. But one day his brother came back and tried to steal some important file from his mother while she was gone. Jericho tried to stop him, but it was no good. Slade was there and..."

Jericho dropped Kole's hands and made a slicing motion across his throat. His face was perfectly stolid otherwise, but Nightwing could see the tremble in his hands.

"These files..."

"His brother took them and left with Slade. Jericho never saw either of them again." Kole gave the blond a hug while Nightwing digested the information.

_He cut his own son's throat. _ Jericho wasn't always mute, and now that Nightwing heard the story, he could see the pale line running across the boy's white neck. _He stole his own son's voice. _ Nightwing couldn't think of a time he hated Slade more. "Come with me."

"Both of us?" Kole asked.

"Yes, please."

They both followed slowly, confused by Nightwing's command, but he needed to do it. Dick Grayson led them away from the now sanctioned Tamaranean section of the space station and back towards the main part of the Watchtower. He stole a glance behind him to see both former honorary Titans arm in arm, Kole looking up at Jericho with concern lining her face. "Don't worry." Nightwing offered as they approached the cell block. "I'm not locking him up. You just have to see something."

He punched in the code to the lock of the cell in front of him and allowed the door to swing open. The blond man on the other side of the door was standing, back turned. "The pot roast was pretty crappy, Rob, but what can you expect in a place like..." His voice faded as Nightwing moved away from the doorframe and allowed the two other heroes to be visible to Red X.

Jericho walked in slowly, leaving Kole outside the cell. They looked so similar, the heritage and relationship between them visibly undeniable. Grant Wilson's arms were unbound to let him to eat, and right now, his limbs were stunned stiff to his sides. He allowed is younger brother to approach him slowly. Both of their faces held a powerful mix of shock and sadness and joy.

"Joey?"

Jericho nodded his head and immediately placed his arms around the blond man dressed in black, not even waiting for permission. Grant took a step back and mimicked the hug, embracing his younger brother even tighter before muttering a, "I'm sorry."

Kole whispered to Nightwing, "This looks like Red X."

"It is."

"And he's..."

"Joseph's brother."

They continued to hug and smile, completely oblivious to the two other people outside of the cell door. Grant Wilson finally tore away and grinned, "You're so grown up now, Joey. I can't believe it."

Jericho held out a hand, suggesting that Grant too had grown.

The gesture only made Red X frown. "You...you can't speak, can you?" At the returned sad look, Grant dropped his head, "I can't believe I let him do that to you. All for some stupid papers. Joey, I understand if you could never forgive me. I don't deserve to see you again. Nightwing?"

Nightwing lifted his head in surprise at his name, "Yes?"

"How did you find him? How did you get him here?"

"His alias is Jericho-an honorary Titan. He was here as a hero."

Grant sniffed in satisfaction, "Of course he was. Of course you would be, Joey."

Jericho said nothing but only turned back to the girl at the door and flashed her the widest smile. Both Nightwing and Red X only stared at the action before Red X finally asked, "What does that mean?"

Kole exhaled before smiling. "It means he forgives you."

* * *

><p>AN:

Actual plot will progress in the next chapter! Thanks everyone for reading!


	18. Calling All Titans

A/N:

Hi All! On to the next chapter.

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers that have been a FANTASTIC motivator to write this story! :

_Katwizzle_: Thanks so much! I never thought Red X could be cute, but, huh, that's good :D And I hurried!

_TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: _I'm slowly deciding how much I can keep canon and what I can mess with. It's sort of fun. And I gotta agree with you about Rose. She seems insane, but there's a reason behind it and it's a dark one.

_MelonLord28_: She did? Poor BB. I think I make up for it though. There should be an FF category for Bromance.

_The Cretin: _Whoa, thanks! Characterization is the most important thing to me ( I think even more so than plot). And gotta throw in some Jericho and Kole action! As much as I live BBxRae, they can't completely hog the love spotlight. Nightfart? Accidental type or not? It seems quite appropriate some times. And oh my. When I read that I thought that I better not pick up a copy until I finish this. But I'm not so certain I can hold out that long. Oh Terra. I don't want her to hurt BB but at the same time, I find it necessary. Great.

_Sofia Michelle: _Oh. Sorry! I just realized how misleading that could possibly be, especially for Flinx fans. Unnecessarily cruel. But I actually did watch Light Speed recently. I love Wally so much. And thanks :)

_Miss Topaz: _I'm glad I can bring out the fangirl! I think that's the sort of reaction I love to have while reading, so I want other readers to have it too! And I should write them a letter. Meanwhile I could also ask them to reconsider the animation style. No more stoned BB.

_Playsintherainicorn: _The Ahem got me worried at first, but then I kept reading, and Thanks! It really does make sense to me, that I kind of secretly hope that if Red X were to be revealed it would have been Grant. That would have been such a good story arc within series too.

_horus346: _I'm sure the majority of the Titans would agree with you. Sometimes I wonder if Nightwing would follow Batman's no kill rule if it came down to it...and thanks!

_TheScribeSizer: _Thanks for the review and reading both my oneshots as well! I'm glad you liked their relationship in all my stories, and that was a really HUGE compliment so thanks again!

_Dancing Eyes: _Thanks! I try, I try.

_fman13: _Thanks so much! Wonderful compliment. And more information about the Egg is actually revealed in this chapter. If there is any further confusion though, let me know and I'll try to explain to the best of my abilities!

On a more serious note: I also want to express my sadness for what happened at the Dark Knight Rises premiere. To all those out west in Colorado and others affected, I'm deeply sorry for what your community must be going through. It was an atrocious act that never should have happened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or other characters/locations connected to DC.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 16: Calling All Titans<em>

Gar stared at the redheaded girl in pigtails, noticeably perturbed. He just wanted to get the food in peace, run back, and get back to kissing Raven. Not a lot to ask for. But this girl...he didn't know what to make of her. She was slack-jawed, grey eyes staring at him as if he had two heads. Or three eyes. Or was green. _Well, check that one off the list. _His annoyance smoothly morphed into confidence as he figured out her expression. _I got it. _

_First Raven. _ He edged his elbows onto the counter, letting the plastic bag he was carrying hit the edge. _Now an admiring fan. _ Not that Gar would act on his groupie, but it was always nice to have admirers. He let loose a trademarked smile. "I see that you recognize me."

Whatever trance the pizzeria girl had been in immediately popped, and she busily turned around with red on her pale face. She was looking over receipts and boxes and shouted for some guy named Tony to take care of his order while she rushed to the back kitchen. Gar's ears immediately drooped. _That was weird. _ When this Tony came out- a tall, tan man- Gar was less amused by his stoic face. "Dude, what's up with her?"

Tony raised an eyebrow but offered no explanation. "What do you want?"

"One large pizza, please. Do you offer any vegan options for cheese and dough?"

The stern look on Tony's face suggested he didn't.

Gar scratched a pointed ear, "What about organic? No? Right then. Normal pizza is fine, with mushrooms. Oh and did I say large?"

"You did. $8.99 please."

The changeling blinked. That was something he wasn't used to. His spandex-esque uniform didn't offer much room for wallets, and he really only had his communicator attached to his belt. Plus pleather wallets and cash were easily lost when he changed if it didn't fit in his belt. _The supermarket didn't make me pay either. _But instead of eloquently telling Tony all of this, Gar only said, "Er, what?"

"$8.99. One large cheese pizza with one topping."

"Right, right, but you see, my name is Gar Logan." No response. "Beast Boy?" Tony just stared. "Changeling?" Gar sighed and crossed his arms, "Sorry, but when I was a Teen Titan we never had to pay here. You know, generous gift for protecting Jump City and all."

"So?"

"Er, I guess that courtesy has an expiration date?"

"No money?" He crumpled the receipt before he could hand it to another worker to give to the back kitchen. "Next custo..."

"Hold up, Tony." The redheaded girl was back from the kitchen looking considerably less shell-shocked. She took a pink wallet out of her purse and handed Tony a ten dollar bill. "Give him the rest. He seems to need it."

Gar smiled for real this time, incisors jutting out. "That's nice of you, miss, but you really don't have to."

Tony seemed to agree, "Jen, you sure?"

"Don't worry about it."

His biting hunger ceased any chivalrous action. Gar accepted the change, just a dollar and a penny, and placed both in his belt under Jen's rather stern stare. He supposed she wouldn't be accepting that back any time soon, but he still wanted to offer her something. "Bet you'll want my autograph, huh? Least I can do."

She paused, as if to consider the offer or not. Usually fans would jump up and down at the mere suggestion of an autograph, but Jen only shrugged and said, "Sure."

_Sure? _ He didn't let it faze him. "Jen, right?"

Her grey eyes seemed to flicker, "Um, yeah. Are you...I mean, are the Titans back together?"

"Sort of." Gar grabbed a napkin from the cashier counter and a nearby pen for signing receipts. "So what do you want exactly? Haven't done these in a while. How about a, 'To Jen, I hope the pizza's great! Best, Gar.'" Gar shook his head and bit at the pen top a little. "No, wait. 'Stay cool, BB.' Or would you prefer Beast Boy?"

Jen seemed to be uninterested. She wasn't looking at him, and Gar was starting to think maybe he was just being delusional about her surprise look before. She was twisting a piece of paper in her hands when she asked, "Any honorary Titans here too?"

"Just Flash." Gar finished signing his name and then finally noticed how weird that question was. "Um, is everything alright?"

She strangely didn't seem alright at all. "Yeah." She must have noticed that he was staring at her funny, for soon she was attempting to cover for her sad expression. "It's just whenever superheroes are in town...it usually means something is wrong."

"No worries. I mean, it can't be that dangerous if I'm just hanging out here getting pizza." He shot her a lighthearted grin but then was already distracted by the warm melted pie being placed in a cardboard box for him. "Well, here you go." He handed her the napkin in exchange for his food. "Take care, see ya in a bit!"

As he exited the pizzeria, Gar suddenly wished cheetahs had opposable thumbs. For some reason, (completely unrelated to Raven and her lips) he wanted to get back to the Tower as soon as possible, but shifting into anything that could move much faster wouldn't be able to hold the stuff. _Okay, maybe it's a little because of her lips. _ He couldn't stop smiling. That girl made him absolutely giddy, made him want to skip. _ I wonder how Raven would feel about that. _ He knew it would probably surprise her, maybe even annoy her, but that only seemed to double his smile. Gar silently promised that he'd make those thoughts known to her as soon as possible.

The long way back to the Tower was, well, long. The gooey, melted cheese and fresh mushroom smell of the pizza was making the trip even more torturous, but he remained strong. Gar held his nose with his gloved fingers, attempting to make it less tempting. _Should have gotten two pies. Maybe 5. _ He had to let go of his nose to punch in the code as he reached the end of the tunnel, and soon he was back in the Tower and dropping the box off in the kitchen.

"Rave?" Gar didn't turn to the living room. "You may want to get this fast, cuz I think the Beast is going to devour everything in like 10 sec..." He blinked when he noticed the two other men flanking Raven. "Dudes!" He ran into the living room and gave Cyborg and Nightwing each a big hug. "Finally you guys are all back!" _Should have gotten 15 pies._

Victor ignored the changeling completely and sniffed the tasty air. "Mmm, pizza. Please tell me you got pepperoni with salami, sausage, and anchovies."

"You're kidding right?"

"Beast Boy, what took so long?" Raven rubbed her arms. "Nightwing and Cyborg had time to get here, but they just arrived. I didn't have time to explain anything."

He read between her words, seeing the deeper hue in the purple of her eyes. _Aka she didn't say anything about us...whatever we are. _ "Not much to tell. Starfire and Flash still haven't contacted us about anything. That's it."

"Figures. But Slade needs to be caught." Nightwing took the yellow communicator from his belt. Gar didn't think it was possible, but Nightwing seemed to have an even angrier tone in his voice in reference to Slade. "I'll contact Starfire and try to meet up with her. If he's traveling with Ravager, it's better if it's two against two instead of us at a disadvantage."

"Yeah, that's great and all, but how about we _eat _first? I'm starved." Cyborg didn't even wait for a response from his friends. The half-robot was already headed to the kitchen and munching on two slices at once.

Raven blinked. "Does he even _have_ a stomach?"

"Oh, I got this for you!" Gar blushed when Nightwing gave him a noticeably confused look, but he brushed it off and continued to talk to Raven. "First I figured you liked black because...well...it's you. And I know you hate that chai stuff. But then I thought maybe English Breakfast or Earl Grey because those sound sort of fancy. You know, herbal tea is kind of a _broad _term. I just couldn't really make up my mind so I got the variety pack."

Raven took the white plastic bag and held up the box of teas. She gave a faint smile, "Thanks," and headed to the kitchen with Cyborg. Her boots suddenly stopped, however, and she turned back. "In the future, my favorite teas have a green base."

He gulped, face suddenly warm, "Green?"

"Yes." She continued her walk towards the kettle with the tiniest sly smile on her face from his reaction.

_Crap. _ Gar broke his focus from Raven and turned back to Nightwing and scratched his green hair. "So NW, um..."

"I don't want to know." Nightwing crossed his arms and moved to the couch before sitting. There was clearly a lot on his mind, an easy thing to tell from his expression. "Tell me after all this, got it?'

"Gotcha." He didn't really have any intention of telling him now anyway.

Nightwing exhaled and sat straighter on the couch. "Think she's okay?"

Gar's mind immediately shot to Raven, but he knew that was wrong. And then the yellow communicator fumbling in between Nightwing's hands became more and more obvious. "Starfire is the toughest girl I know. It's Cyborg you should be worried about." Gar stretched, arching his back. "If he eats all the pizza, he's a dead man. Want some NW?"

"No, I'm okay. And do you have to call me that?"

Gar shrugged, "NW? I guess I could experiment a little. How about Richie Rich?"

Nightwing became rigid and raised his head up from the communicator, "Did Star tell you?"

"Yup." From the look on Nightwing's face, there was no way Gar would have been in trouble for telling him the truth. He was far beyond being mad at the Tamaranean princess for anything either. "Awesome by the way. Remind me to ask you about stock options later."

Gar managed to get a chuckle out of him with that comment. "I actually prefer Dick."

"Really?" He chuckled, "_Why_?"

Nightwing didn't exactly respond. His eyes were already back on the communicator, and Gar willingly gave up on trying to figure out his friend for the much more clear cut and delicious option of mushrooms, cheese, and carbs.

He was halfway through his second slice of pizza, when Nightwing called everyone's attention again. They had all migrated to the couch already with pizza in tow. Their former leader nodded his head and then moved towards the giant windows. There was a shadowy figure flying outside, and Nightwing quickly opened the window as green eyes shown against the glass.

Gar grinned, "Star!"

"Hello, friends." The Tamaranean flew into the Titans' common room and landed softly on the floor. Starfire seemed to do what Beast Boy strived to do every day just by walking (or flying) into a room. Everyone seemed to smile, reflecting the princess's own grin. Even Raven seemed brighter, until she was dragged into a group hug from the same strong alien. "Dick had called me as soon as he arrived back. I feel the excitement of all of us being in our old home once again!"

Gar transformed into a mouse and crawled away from the hug. He smiled at the noticeable ease of his transformation, and shifted back into human form. Raven was the next to leave the disguised death-hold and straightened out her cloak. "Where's Wally?"

"He is still doing the searching. I am saddened to say that both of our efforts did not bear any fruit."

Cyborg cracked his biological eye open, "Did she just call you 'Dick'?"

"My real name, Vic. We've met before." Nighwing took off his mask. "Dick Grayson. Nice to see you again, Dr. Stone."

"Oookaaay. So billionaire's like to play hero. Ollie, you...let me guess, Mr. Wayne is Batman?"

"Yeah."

Cyborg's mouth was still a bit open, but soon he half-recovered. "Well...uh, anyway. That's cool. What makes you guys want to run around in tights anyway?"

Starfire clapped her hands together, "Oh! Are we wearing our old costumes?"

"No," Nightwing gritted immediately.

"Dude, don't know what you're complaining out. That costume was sweet." Gar leaned on the couch, careful to keep a wandering arm away from Raven's shoulder. Which was a lot harder than he thought it would be.

"Can we please focus?" Nighwing replaced the mask over his blue eyes, and all four heroes seated in front of him looked up expectantly. His fingers relaxed from the fist he had made, and Nightwing seemed to calm. "Sorry guys. It's just..."

"Slade," all four of the other heroes echoed.

Nightwing wasn't surprised by the outcry. "Yeah. I had a talk with both of his sons."

"Both?" Victor looked around for more clarification. "I got that Ravager was Rose Wilson and Red X was Grant Wilson, but who's the other one?"

"Joseph Wilson." Raven squirmed next to Gar when Nightwing gave her a look. "It's alright if any of you knew his identity before. I can understand why you didn't say anything. Jericho is Slade's son."

Starfire gasped, but Cyborg didn't really make any sort of reaction. "Can't say I can be too surprised about that after you announce that you're _Dick Grayson_, Nightwing."

The changeling couldn't help but stifle a laugh, and then he remembered one major detail that temporarily slipped his mind. Gar stiffened in his seat and asked evenly, "How's Terra?"

"Alright. I had her helping Kole and Jericho with the Tamaraneans. She's fine. " There was a tone in his voice that made Gar doubt how true that statement was, but he didn't move to question it. Nightwing was already moving on to the next subject. "As we all now know, Grant Wilson, or Red X, was working with his father and half-sister to steal the Regenerative Egg from Star Labs. Hal Jordan and the rest of the Green Lantern Corp. have confirmed that the Egg is also known to a large majority of the universe as the Black Star."

"It is said that was how Tamaran looked when it..." She seemed to be shivering even still. Starfire took a deep breath. "Please continue."

"The Black Star is a type of parasite from my understanding. It has two stages of development: a pupal form and an adult form."

"We did some research over at Star on its composition. The Egg seems to be in the pupal form currently. Sort a like the cocoon for a butterfly. It protects the adult when traveling to a new planet to a..." Cyborg's eyes looked away from Starfire completely, and he shuffled through some files he had placed on the coffee table underneath the pizza plates.. "...Feed. I'm sure if we ran an X-ray or MRI, we could have gotten a clearer image of what's inside."

Raven didn't hold back, "Then why didn't you?"

"Because we didn't want to damage it at all with possible radiation. Now we pretty much want to do the exact opposite. But the thing is, it's cells are insane. Practically impregnable. The outer shell of the Egg acts as the pupa's food source. It's all the energy of the last planet wrapped up in plasma and organelles. Lucky for us, Tamaran was not too highly populated. The pupa should hibernate for a longer period of time to conserve energy."

Gar didn't want to be the one to ask it, but no one else seemed to be willing to. "So...uh, what about when it hatches?" His green eyes were met with blank, drawn out faces. "Never mind. Didn't ask that. We won't let it hatch."

"No," Nightwing answered. "We won't. Like I said we're traveling in pairs to stop it and Slade. Starfire, you'll be with me. I'll need either Beast Boy or Raven to catch up with Wally and the other one paired with Cyborg. Raven, I assume that you'll find Flash."

"I'll go," Gar immediately offered. He had some things to say to Wally West, and some apologies to make. "I'll call him and have him slow down a bit for a cheetah to catch up. You okay with that, Rave?"

She seemed a little stunned that she was being asked that question. "I'd like to go with Gar if that's possible, Nightwing."

_Don't blush. Don't blush. Boys-er- men don't blush._

"Sorry, Raven. Neither Cyborg nor Flash can fly. I'd like to have one flying member on each team."

Vic held up a finger, "Actually, I do have jet propulsions in my shoes..."

"It's fine, Nightwing." Raven smoothed out her gloves. "I'd love to be partners with Cyborg."

Gar unselfishly thought that may have been for the best. Mix adrenaline, shadowy corners, and _Rave_n_? _That was bound to be a distraction.

"Good. I'm sending the exact plans of our different missions to your communicators. Beast Boy, be sure to show Flash the plans on yours. I don't want to risk an interception. The honorary Titans line is less secure. Justice League is on call if anyone is struggling. This has become a number one priority mission. Many of the prominent members are coming back from the Tamaran scene to help us if needed."

Cyborg lifted his chin. "We'll be fine. We've dealt with Slade before."

"Ravager is a different story though." Gar leaned over Raven to look at his best friend. "She's nuts. She'll kill you in a second if it benefits her." His fingers traced the wound under the tight fit of his uniform, and he felt Raven's concerned eyes on him. "So just be careful."

"Thanks, Beast Boy. Grant warned me as well, but it's possible reasoning may work with them. As much as I'd like to hit Shave Slade rot in jail, I doubt he wants the world to end. He doesn't know about the Black Star."

"Robin." Raven let his old name slip though no one, not even Nightwing, seemed to notice. It felt more natural to all of them even in his black and blue and without the red and green. It seemed like it did, not two years ago, but five years ago, when they still had a rush of missions at their doorstep. "He has caused the world to end before. We don't know what Slade's goal is."

"He wants to get Terra back. Isn't that right?" Gar was looking at his hands.

"Yes, but who's to say he won't use the Black Star when he realizes what it's capable of?" Raven argued. "I don't think we should tell him."

Nightwing was more hesitant to agree. "I don't want anyone from this team hurt. If it comes between your lives and trying to persuade Slade out of using it, we should all choose the second option. Our mission, first and foremost, is disabling the Black Star. It should be sent back to the Watchtower if acquired. Raven, you'll be key to this since you can teleport. We'll be separated for now, but each of us will meet up at the rendezvous point at different target areas. Are there any questions?"

"Where exactly is this rendezvous point?"

"Good question, Raven. I'll send it to the GPS on your communicator, but I think its Red X's original hideout."

"You mean the one that you have been to when you were the Red X?" Starfire offered.

Nightwing nodded, "Yes. Slade knew about its location when we talked. I had all his other hideouts dismantled years ago."

Gar didn't want to go on a wild goose chase. Time wasn't exactly a friend, especially since they had no real idea of when the Egg would hatch. "Is this by any chance near where Jump's fair is?"

"Yes?" Nightwing's blue eyes almost pierced through his mask. "Why do you ask?"

"No...no reason. Just that, um, the fair should be in town right about now, shouldn't it?" Explaining that he had seen Slade after Trigon in front of the other Titans would only delay their action. Gar couldn't have that. "And that means lots of potential hostages."

Their former leader bought it, although a little reluctantly, and nodded. "Beast Boy's right. It's important that neither Slade nor Ravager threaten any civilians' lives. Are there any more concerns, team?"

"Dick?"

Nightwing settled his eyes on Starfire and they softened. "What is it, Kory?"

"Before you shout for us to 'go', I would like to do the talking with you outside." Starfire didn't wait for his response. The princess was already flying up towards the roof, leaving Nightwing standing in the center of the room, sweating.

Cyborg stood up and jabbed the man in the shoulder, "So what are you still doing here?"

"...I..."

"Go get 'em, Boy Wonder. Can I assume that my grants from Wayne Enterprises are approved by the way?"

Nightwing didn't answer, too distracted by the stairs that led to the roofs above. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Starfire wanted to 'talk' about, and Gar was getting anxious for his friend. "Dude, seriously. Go now."

It took another physical push from Raven until he finally found that his legs were mobile again, and soon, Nightwing was full out sprinting up the stairs to where Starfire had already flown. Raven had turned around to look back at Gar on the couch, but the green man glanced away from her eyes, already feeling his face warm.

"Um, guys?"

They both broke away and saw Cyborg giving them a weird look. He looked confused, worried but at the same time strangely satisfied. "...I'm gonna go to the garage." He backed away slowly. "You both shouldn't follow me though. Just...I'll just be with the T-Car. Raven, I'll meet you back here in 10 minutes?"

Raven nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat, and waved as the half-robot descended to the large garage. Her cloak swirled as she turned back around to Gar, and he stood up to meet her. "Think he knows?"

She didn't answer. Instead, the empath grabbed his hand and brought him upstairs. He slowly followed, unable to focus on his steps as he just stared at their hands together. Gar wanted to take off his gloves. He wanted to take off hers too (and maybe more), but more than anything, he just wanted to hold her. Whatever distance he had felt when they had initially saw each other again had evaporated. He thought they had lost some trace of their friendship, that the lack of contact made a strain. And it _did_ put a strain-just not the type he had thought of. Gar knew what it was like to be away from her, and now he knew what it was like to hold her, to kiss her. _ The world isn't really ending. _ Their fingers were linked so tightly. _It can't be. Not now. Not when we just got started._

It was a long walk down the hallway until Raven stopped at the door with her name as the label. The room wasn't the same, but it still seemed to have the whole 'Raven' vibe to it, which was still sort of creepy. But Gar assumed she felt more comfortable here or that she wanted more privacy. Which was fine, Gar thought, since he wanted the exact same things.

Raven rubbed her upper arms after letting go of his hand as she walked into the room. She sat on the edge of the bed, purple hair masking some of her face. "Garfield, I just wanted..."

For some reason, he didn't really seem to care what she wanted for he was immediately silencing her with his own lips. Cautiously, Gar maneuvered his body on top of hers, making her back hit the comforter. All the while he kept contact, kissing her, moving his hands to her waist and hair. She was so soft and warm and small underneath him, and his brain was still muddled with the idea that this was happening. He broke suddenly and felt the soreness, but he paid it no mind. "You know what?" Gar bit the edge of his gloves to peel them off and then moved his hands back to her face. "Much better."

"Gar?"

"Hm?" He was kissing her again, and she kissed him back slowly. Sweet. Smooth. He would never get tired of this.

Raven pushed on his shoulder timidly and huffed, "Too fast."

"Sorry." He immediately rolled off her and tried to settle down his hair, but Raven knelt and patted down the green mess herself. Gar took her hand away from his head and gripped it, "I don't mean to rush you. It'd be easy to say it's all those animal genes coming out, but I think I'd sort of be lying."

She half-smiled, her purple eyes softened in the dull lighting. "I don't blame you. I'm just...you know about my..."

"No need to explain."

Raven seemed grateful for the interruption. She swung her legs over and sat on the edge of the bed by his feet. "I did want to talk to you."

He was a little frightened with the words she could potentially say. His mind couldn't help but stray to the possibility that Raven might have regretted this...thing. But Gar didn't let it faze him. He moved up so that they were eye level again. "I'd like to talk to you too."

"Garfield..." She exhaled again but seemed only more confident when she met his green eyes. "That thing may hatch even while we're out there trying to stop it."

He inched closer to her. "I know."

"And if I never get to see you again..." Raven's head dropped, and her forehead and cheeks were completely blocked by a sheet of lilac hair. Gar moved instantly and knelt behind her, hugging her shoulders to his chest.

"You can't think about that."

"How can I not?"

"You just don't." Gar leaned towards her ears, brushing back some of the strands. "Rave, even if you think and worry about it every second until now to when the world actually ends, it won't stop it from happening. But it won't end. Not now."

She turned back around so that they were chest to chest. Gar felt heated again from their proximity, but he stayed apart from her and focused on her eyes and not his urgent need to kiss her. "But I can't just turn my mind away from it. I can't turn it off like that."

_Neither can I. _But Gar just smiled back. "Whenever you think of this Black Star thing in an unhelpful, completely freak-out Raven way, just...just..." Words were never his strong suit, and Gar shook his head, unable to come up with anything that would be at all helpful. Raven just stared at the changeling expectantly, and Gar found himself suddenly fumbling through his belt.

Raven's eyes widened, "...Um, Gar?"

"There!" He pulled out the gleam of copper from his belt and took her hand, dropping the penny he had received as change. Gar grinned at her and closed her fingers on top of the copper surface. "For luck."

Raven opened her hand again, catching sight of the penny, and immediately dragged him into a hug. It felt amazing, wonderful, and Gar only moved away so that he could reach her lips again. Resting her forehead on top of his, Raven whispered, "Thank you."

"Anytime." _Time...time..._ Gar stiffened as he realized that they were probably expected to leave soon. "We should go."

The empath nodded and walked towards the door. She stopped at the entrance until Gar approached her again. "One more thing." Raven kissed him again, smoothly parting her lips and allowing herself to feel him. Gar could sense her opening up, becoming more and more calm and relaxed around him. There was no more tension with their kiss-only excitement and something else that Gar couldn't name but loved.

They both went down the stairs and back to the common room together, no longer hand in hand. Starfire and Nightwing had that front covered already. The five of them stood in a small circle, all of their eyes trained on Nightwing. It was hard to tell exactly where Dick Grayson was looking, but he seemed to be staring at them all when he asked, "Are we ready?"

They nodded. There was no more time for delay, nothing else that needed to be planned. Gar turned to Raven and found that she had placed her hood over her head. It was part of her crime fighting costume, but Gar couldn't help but think maybe she was trying to hide the flush on her otherwise grey complexion. He touched his own face subconsciously. _Too warm. _

He'd see her again. He would. He still needed to call Flash and ask for his location, but that would only take a second. He waited for the first person to move, but none of them budged. All of them still waited on Nightwing, and even though there was no visible villain, they only rushed out after he shouted, "Titans, Go!"

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><p>AN:

For some reason I wanted to be a bit corny with this one, but I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks everyone!


	19. Tremors

A/N:

My muse decided to go on vacation. Thanks a lot, muse. But HERE I AM. Apologies for the excessive lateness.

Thanks to all my wonderful readers and the amazingly wonderful reviewers who review this story :) :

_Katwizzle: _Jinx? Who's that? Ha, just kidding. I will not admit anything yet, which is just another way of saying yes, isn't it? Or is it? I did not hurry. I am sorry. I will try to hurry next time though!

_fman13: _I am nostalgic myself for the old Titans. So I had to add in the little Go. Glad you liked it! And the cell part. That will be explained _next _ chapter. I promise. I'm also loving the Majin Vegeta pic.

_ 122: _AH! Thanks for the lovely review. I practically squealed and jumped for joy when I read it, and I'm glad my writing can induce such an emotion! And I hope to continue giving you something to look forward to with my writing!

_MelonLord28: _The beastinator is the best term ever. Your review was great, but I just can't the thought of BB calling himself that out of my head. It's great. Absolutely perfect image. So thank you immensely for that. Oh. And as for your question, I guess it's partially her powers but a lot of it, I thought, would be (if you know) the back story to how Raven was conceived. I have a feeling that would make anyone a little hesitant about not maintaining control over the physical part of a relationship,and it's important to Raven to know that if she says no, Gar will listen immediately. Long, convoluted reasoning, but I thought that was an important thing for them to at least semi-address in some way.

_horus346: _I don't think CPS does. I think Slade might just steal them or inject their friends with microscopic weapons that could kill them if you don't listen to him. Or maybe he controls their bodies with suits. I am glad you enjoyed the corniness!

_Lightest'Ink: _I think maybe Jen's just a big fan of the Titans. ...yeah, even I don't believe myself.

_The Cretin: _This plot has taken a while. And I'm slowly appreciating it, so I am glad other people are as well. Oh Nightwing. Or Nightfart. He's an interesting guy. Not sure if you want to hug or punch him half the time. And thanks! This isn't exactly soon, but I try.

_Playsintherainicorn_: Yay corniness! And exactly. There will be much smacking in the face in the chapters to come. I hope you didn't mind waiting this long!

_Sofia Michelle: _It's awesome to hear that you felt all those things while reading. Perfect! I am not revealing anything. Lips sealed.

_Deathrow609: _Thank you so much! It was a little bit of a set up chapter, exactly like the calm before the storm. But I'm not sure if storm is necessarily the right word...

_Brea4458: _Wow, great! I hope your eyes don't hurt too much, ha :)

_Dancing Eyes:_ Thank you so much! And I'll keep going, and hopefully at a faster pace too.

_Phyllis: _I hope your soul enjoys this chapter too!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, although I do plan on going comic book shopping tomorrow.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 17: Tremors<em>

"My baby runs as smooth as ice cream down a waffle cone on a hot summer day."

The analogy was unnecessary as far as Raven was concerned, but she didn't comment. She slipped into the passenger side of the T-Car, tugging at her cloak so that it wouldn't get caught as she closed the door. Her communicator flipped opened easily to reveal her part of Nightwing's plan, and she restated them aloud for Cyborg to hear. "We're to scan the outer edges of the fair grounds and a four mile radius from the epicenter of Red X's old hideout."

Vic hummed along with the engine of his car. "Target?"

"Ravager." Raven flipped the communicator's screen back to the top before turning back to her friend. "You have the coordinates?" Her voice sounded shaken-not even, not apathetic. She swallowed a bit and sat straighter.

"Yup. You good there, Raven?"

"Fine." She was looking out the passenger window where the three other Titans were waving goodbye, wondering how convincing she sounded. Gar was smiling at her, but she could feel his worry. He gave her a thumbs up and ducked his head down, green hair blocking his eyes. Starfire and Nightwing were immediately headed to what looked like a black version of the R-cycle, and Gar shifted into a dark green peregrine falcon, zooming out of the cavernous garage.

Vic waited for their leader to leave before he accelerated the car out of the Tower and through the tunnel connecting them to Jump City. "Fair or 4 mile radius first?"

"Fair." Raven called the shot. She remembered people running as she landed looking for Beast Boy. She remembered the blood on the streets, the slice and wound in Beast Boy's chest. "Ravager likes a show."

"Great," His voice dripped with sarcasm and he turned the wheel. The lights of the T-car flashed brilliantly against the dark cityscape. Jump City was in full view now, and people looked on, staring and pointing at the Titans' vehicles.

Her eyes ignored the people and were fully trained on the green bird circling overhead. _Relax. _ She took a deep breath, but her nerves seemed fried. _Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zin-_

"Raven...yo! Raven!"

The hood over her face almost fell with the speed that she turned back to her friend. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

"Just that I managed to convince the JLA to pull some info on Rose Wilson/Ravager. Dresses like Slade, uses a sword, ...are you listening to me at all?"

"Yes," she muttered even though she hadn't been. Raven pulled back the edge of her hood, sensing her friend's annoyance. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing." Cyborg kept his eyes forward on the streets and swerved through traffic and red lights. "Just that I figured that when two of my best friends finally get together, they'd at least let me know. Not exactly expecting a card or a party, but maybe just a quick, 'hey, I finally decided that I like the Grass Stain...'"

Raven slumped a little in her seat. There was a tiny battle in her head on whether or not she should deny the accusation, but she saw the look in his eyes, even from her side angle. Lying wouldn't get her far, and if she were being perfectly honest with herself, she didn't feel like lying about her and Gar at all. "I didn't think it was important." She stuttered. "I mean...it's important. But not now. Not during a mission."

"It is when you can't focus because you're worried about him. Don't see why though. He seems to be changing just fine again." Cyborg grinned, "Something you said?"

"Maybe." She hid her smile. "But I won't be distracted anymore. It's unprofessional, careless,..."

"It's natural." Cyborg sighed and gave her a sidewards glance, never decelerating. "BB is tougher than he looks. He'll be okay. Flash is with him."

"I know he'll be okay."

He raised an eyebrow, "You sure about that?"

"I know he's tough," Raven said firmly. "Gar has been through so much, but this may be the end of everything. Being tough won't stop the end of the world."

"Didn't that already happen?" Cyborg didn't wait for a response. "I'm beyond happy for ya guys. Almost took you two as long as Robin and Star. And I have so many jokes and embarrassing things to say, so there is absolutely no way that the world is ending any time before that happens." He pressed harder on the gas pedal, causing the tires to skid a little.

Raven jerked forward, still unconvinced by his statement. She understood what happened with Trigon-that technically the world had ended in flame and darkness when she was stuck in a pit. But this felt different to her. There was so much certainty with the world ending last time that it gave Raven no hope at all. And without hope, Raven just expected it to end and be over with. Trigon would take hold just like he said he would and there would be nothing they could do.

But there was something they could do now. The Egg could be caught and sent to the JLA to be dismantled or destroyed or whatever they planned to do with it. Slade could be stopped. Ravager too. Everything could work out perfectly, and that gave Raven the dreaded hope that there was a bright ending after all of this. It _could_ be fine, but there was also a large possibility that it wouldn't be. And that was eating at her.

_I can't think about that. _ She felt the smooth copper surface of the penny between her fingers. She had slipped it in between the lid of her communicator so that it would always be in reach. The cooling feeling on her fingertips seemed to comfort her, but it didn't dispel the thoughts completely. _We need luck now. _ Raven exhaled and placed it back. _ I wonder if Dick and Kory always felt like this. _She suddenly was a lot more empathetic to Dick always screaming whenever the Tamaranean princess was hit.

At the sight of a tall, circle of lights, Victor creaked the T-Car to a complete stop. He looked over to his long time friend again. "We all good?"

"As good as ever." Raven didn't smile- that would have seemed too forced. Instead, she easily got out of the car and turned to the fair and Ferris wheel in front of her. Her friend, however, was still worried. She could feel the concern coming off him in strong waves, and Raven decided to put more force into her voice. "Cyborg, everything is fine. Beast Boy is important to me, but he's always been important. It won't be a distraction."

He shook his head, "Nah, Raven. That's not what's wrong."

Her purple eyes became circles, "Then what is?"

When she truly focused her eyes on the fairgrounds in front of her, she saw the same flashing lights and rides and people. Everything seemed alright until she heard that the screams weren't ones of amusement and playful fright. They were real. Those people were coming closer and closer to the car and street, running away from the fair with looks of pure terror on each of their faces.

"_That _is."

* * *

><p>She wanted to fly. Despite all that was happening around her, despite the threats and the past and her people still without a true home, Starfire was biting down the smile on her face, binding the overwhelming feelings of joy down to her body to bottle up for later. She would only need to remember that memory and her powers would be at full strength. Starfire felt that she could create the biggest starbolt, fly to unfathomable new heights-all from those memories.<p>

_He still loves me. _ She smiled again and hugged Dick's body closer to her as they rode the modified R-cycle down the streets. The wind whipped her orange hair back, letting it stream behind her, and Starfire fed into the exhilaration.

It helped, strangely, calm her nerves. Concentrating on her and Dick Grayson made everything else bearable again. She needed him as a wall, a support beam, and he would be there for her. Robin may have left before, but Nightwing was there. _And Dick was always. _ She levitated from her seat a little, but forced herself back down.

The conversation had gone smoothly, though Starfire hadn't expected it to go anything but smoothly no matter what Nightwing's opinions of her were. She was firm. She had stated herself clearly. She made no move to touch him or kiss him, even though she had wanted to. And he just stood there, face still stolid and hidden behind the black mask. Her words seemed to have fallen dead in the air. There was too much time between his response, and Starfire, for a second, had second guessed her actions.

"_And I am just wondering, Dick Grayson, if you love me again."_

Starfire breathed into his black uniform as they continued on the streets. They were heading directly to the hideout and the main entrance while Beast Boy was to meet up with the Flash and take the back way. They would be coming across Slade soon, but Nightwing was more controlled, it seemed. He would not forget her in his battle with the villain, and once again his three words echoed back to her.

"_I never stopped."  
><em>

Nightwing decelerated and slowed them both to a stop. He pulled off the black helmet, setting it down on the front of the bike, and then swung his legs over, careful not to hit her. Starfire flew up and landed back on the pavement. This area was rundown but by the water. Starfire glanced at abandoned apartment buildings and the sand dunes and waves further out. She could see the shining fair in the distance and knew that some of her friends would be there. "May we run through the plan one more time, love Nightwing?"

He blushed a bit, hints of red underlying the black line of his mask, and nodded. "We're going in head in first to give the others a chance to get in and look for the Egg. Slade may be there with Slade bots, but we've both trained for this." He gave her a quick look. "Thank you for doing this, Kory."

Her eyebrows furrowed together, "I am afraid I do not know what you mean."

"I mean, thank you for coming back to me, and for letting me help you and then helping us in return."

She smiled greatly and touched his cheek. "That is not something to be thankful for. I am the one who should be grateful to you for all that you have done. And as for helping you, it is what a person does for her Bulgorf."

"Bulgorf?" Dick took a step back. "Like for Silkie?"

She giggled at him, keeping her voice significantly low because of their general proximity to the base. "While Bulgorf could be used as the terms of endearment towards children or pets, the direct translation is most closely to 'beloved'."

Nightwing nodded, suppressing his smile and fumbling with the mask on his face. His face wavered and soon became more serious as he pointed ahead. "I had originally bought that apartment there as a hideout when I first came from Gotham."

"You mean before the Gordanians entrapped me and I escaped the horrible imprisonment and came to this planet?"

"Exactly."

"Very well then." Starfire scanned the surrounding area. "And where is the hideout of the Red X?"

He grabbed her hand and pulled out a key from a hidden pocket on his black uniform. "Slade could have the place booby trapped. Alarms could go off any second. We have to be ready to face him when he comes. You remember how he fights, Starfire?"

She nodded. "Yes, I remember. Do not worry, Nightwing."

There were no more warnings from the former Boy Wonder as the pair made their way up to the brick building ahead. It was several stories high, but as they entered the abandoned complex, Nightwing stayed on the ground floor. The golden key shined in the cracked moonlight through the few windows, and Starfire coughed as dust traveled upwards, misplaced by their steps. There were cobwebs and small bugs and the Tamaranean nearly jumped when she saw a grey fluffy creature scurry across the floor. _Do not show fear, Koriand'r. _ That was important now more than ever. She could not afford the slightest bit of hesitance or commitment. She needed to exude bravery in order to comfort the man next to her. Slade was a man that plagued him -plagued them- and Starfire would be happy to see his terror come to an end this day.

_And the Egg as well. We must retrieve it. Do not forget about its importance and danger. _The reminder of Tamaran's killer made her eyes widen, but she quickly hid it. It was easy in the darkness and Nightwing didn't seem to notice. Yet the anger remained under her orange skin. She could feel the starbolts form in her hands already.

"Here."

He stopped in front of what appeared to be a normal apartment door. And it opened normally too. "He didn't bother to change the lock. If he's even here." Nightwing slowly entered the pitch black apartment. His steps were focused, short, and it was obvious his whole body was feeling out the room and trying to sense for danger. Starfire was doing the same, though she could find nothing odd about the space. Not odd by human standards at least. There was a small couch, a rug, and a TV. There seemed to be a room for a bed and for a bath as well, but Nightwing didn't approach any of those doors.

Instead, he walked to a tall bookcase that stood flushed against the far wall. It was a deep red wood, and Nightwing scanned the books quickly before sliding his hand down one with brown binding. Starfire blinked at the letters on the spine, "A Guide to Ornithology."

Nightwing turned, "Too obvious?"

She didn't say anything, and just watched as Nightwing took off the brown book and switched it with another, smaller book. "Chiroptera?" But there was no time to answer her question. The bookcase was vibrating, and soon the wood completely shifted to the left, sliding the shelf across the wall to reveal a dark passage behind it. "This reminds me of the time Raven was the portal, yes?"

"Hopefully it won't turn out the same, Star. That was pretty..."

"I know it was bad, but even if it did turn out the same, we were still victorious. We will be victorious again." She held a lighted hand out to see that the dark passage was not a hall or a room, but an elevator shaft. "Where does the worrisome, dark elevator lead to, love Nightwing?"

"To the hideout. This was just a cover."

It seemed like a lot for just a cover. As Titans, they had lived and worked in a known hideout, but she remembered the Bat Cave and the mansion upstairs. It seems that it was innate for Dick Grayson to operate more in that manner. The stairs were steep, even for Starfire, so the Tamaranean elected to hover down them instead of walk. Nightwing led the way down the dark, dank upper level. The walls were a thick stone grey-the air clammy and chilly. She remained aerial even as they approached a flat surface 50 yards down.

"Nightwing, now what are we to do?"

He pointed to the far wall. "It's sort of hard to tell in the dark, but the wall there has a panel. It opens up to the larger cavern. That's the main hideout." Nightwing said no more and walked to the dark, slim panel. It was a long combination of numbers, but Starfire waited patiently as his fingers adeptly pushed the pattern. There was a beep, a flash of red, and Nightwing stared at the panel, confused. "That doesn't make sense." More numbers. More buttons. More red lights. "What's going on?"

Starfire touched his shoulder. "Perhaps Slade has forethought our coming and changed the password of numbers."

Nightwing continued combinations. "But then why not change all the entrances? We got into this room just fine."

"And maybe that was exactly what I wanted."

The deep voice was too familiar, sending waves of shivers down Starfire's spine. She didn't turn-not yet-for most of her concern laid in the man in front of her. Even behind the black mask, she could see the burning hatred, the unending need for justice in his eyes. Nightwing walked passed Starfire, and his hands flexed outwards, ready for a fight. "Slade."

"Hello, Robin." His orange black mask was the same and so was his body. It had been years, practically a decade since their last encounter, but the man seemed untouched by time. "And is that Princess Koriand'r? How lovely. A reunion. I hope I'm not interrupting something."

Starfire let the starbolts fit in the palm of her hands. "You must surrender what you have stolen!"

Slade wasn't fazed. "And what is that?"

"The Egg, Slade. You have to understand. It's not what you think it is." Nightwing stepped forward but was still on the defensive.

Slade uncrossed his arms and let out a low, calculated chuckle. "On the contrary, Robin. It's _exactly _ what I think it is."

* * *

><p>Wally said he wasn't that far off from where Nightwing wanted them to meet, so Gar allowed himself to stay in a slower-though less conspicuous- form. Peregrine falcons were only the fastest animal on the planet when diving, and since he wasn't in a constant free fall, it would have probably been more effective to be a cheetah or a lion or even a quarter horse. But traffic was rough in Jump City, and he preferred to remain aerial. They were a couple of miles from the fair, where the dock and boardwalk became less busy and turned into abandoned docks and fields. Apparently, the first Red X's hideout was nearby, as well as the secret entrance Nightwing had initially commissioned. His first base was smaller than the Tower by a long shot, and also a whole lot easier to breach even though the majority of it was underground.<p>

The plan, from what Gar could make of it, was simple. Raven and Cy were clearing the area and waiting for a call while looking to see if Ravager were out and about. Nightwing, Starfire, Flash, and he were taking both entrances and seeing which one Ravager and Slade would come to if they were still inside. If they came to one, good. The other team could easily get through a bunch of Slade bots and find the Egg. If they separated and came to both entrances, even better. It'd be two against one, and one simple call to Rave would mean a team inside the base, finding the Egg with no possible distraction.

When he found the Flash, the speedster seemed to like the plan but was still doubtful. "Sounds a bit too easy if you ask me." Wally removed a protein bar from a hidden pocket and started chewing. "So, youomcanommtransnomform?" He swallowed, "That's great!"

Luckily Gar was truly experienced when it came to talking while eating. "Yeah. Physical is something a doctor would have to fix, but it wasn't like that. A mental block is all me. And if I'm the only thing holding myself back from changing well, Dude, that won't last long." He shrugged, "I know all my weak spots."

For some reason, Wally didn't seem to buy it. "Something Raven said?"

Gar flinched a bit at his own transparency. "Maybe just a bit."

"So why did Nightwing set you up with me?" Flash looked at the map on Gar's communicator and walked through the open lot. It looked to be an old soccer or football field, but whatever goal posts that used to be there were far rusted over. "Drew the short straw?"

"Nah, I wanted to."

Flash stopped completely and turned. His face was practically a scowl. "_Why_? No offense, BB, but we aren't exactly buddy-buddy."

Gar scratched his head, "Yeah, got that much. Though I don't really get why. You seem...uh, nice and all."

"And all?" Wally was still suspicious. "BB, you _know_ why we don't get along. And I'm sorry for that. I should have gotten that sooner. I'm sorry that I got in the way of something that I thought was only a possibility years and years ago."

Gar smirked, unable to help the smile. "You mean me and Raven."

"Yes exactly."

"No need to apologize, really. We were both...dumb. I guess I was sort of..."

Flash crossed his arms, "Jealous of my natural charm and good looks?"

"Dude, I was going to say threatened." Gar shrugged, "Look, I picked partnering with you because _I _wanted to apologize. I had no claim on Raven. She isn't...property. She's allowed to like whoever she wants. Even you."

"Ouch, Beast Boy. My poor heart."

"Shut up, Wally." Beast Boy rubbed the back of his neck, green eyes reflecting downwards into the grass. "I should have been more sensitive though. I mean, Raven's amazing, great, terrific, and..."

"Beautiful, fabulous, perfect. Spare me, please."

Gar growled, "I was just gonna say I can't blame you for liking her too." He turned to face his partner completely, running a hand through his green hair. "Especially after Jinx, man. It must have been rough for you to move on. I've never been in love before. I can't imagine what it must be like to..."

"It isn't fun." Flash replied grimly. "And you weren't? Not even a little bit with..."

Gar squirmed, understanding what he meant to say before he even began to say it. Had he been so silly, stupid, and head-over-heels for her? _Yeah...you sort of were. _ Gar sighed at the memory. It was still more painful than he would have liked to admit. "That was a crush. Both literally and...whatever that other word is. Terra was damaged and she managed to damage everyone else too."

"Not such a fan then?"

Gar shook his head, "Don't get me wrong, I liked her a lot. I still do to a degree. But she isn't what I need at..." Gar's ears twitched and his hands extended out as if to brace his body. It was weird. His sense of equilibrium was completely thrown, but from what he saw, nothing was moving. The sensation was too much for him to ignore though. He glanced warily towards Flash. "Do you feel that?"

Flash just stared at him. "Feel what exactly?"

The green shape shifter transformed into a dog and then immediately back into his human form. His ears twitched, and from what seemed like miles away, he felt the earth tremble from underneath his boots. _Crap, really? Right now? _ He bit his lip before feeling for his footing again. "There's an earthquake."

"BB, what are you talking..." Flash jolted as the dirt shifted. The ground throughout the field made a ripping noise, web-thin cracks carving across the dead, grassy surface. There was a deep reverberating noise from underneath the earth, and Flash immediately looked up to Gar, face pale from underneath his red cowl. "I should start running now, shouldn't I?"

"How about I change into a pterodactyl and we get the heck out of here off the ground." He held out a silver gloved hand, "Deal?"

"Deal."

They shook briefly and Gar swiftly transformed into the prehistoric creature. Flash hesitated, but with another, bigger shake, moved onto Beast Boy's back and prepared for the take off.

* * *

><p>Raven tried to sift through the crowd to stop somebody, anybody. Every civilian just kept running, never looking back or stopping or giving either Titan a passing glance. The fair had been crowded, but the people were racing to leave, and it was only when Raven saw the trail of blood on the ground that she realized why. "She's here."<p>

It didn't take Cyborg long to notice the red stains on the ground as well, and soon Vic was scanning the area for any sign of Ravager. "That way." He pointed forward, and Raven immediately flew up. They were past the point of discretion. Ravager had killed someone. Ravager had almost killed Garfield. _She won't get away._

Vic ran to keep pace with her, "Let me handle her, Raven. Doubt her sword can cut through my robotic body, and we need someone to make sure these people aren't running straight into a trap." There were still loads and loads of people scrambling for an escape. They came off of rides and snack lines and game booths, all sprinting towards the nearby parking lots and subway stations. _This isn't good. _Raven looked around for any sign of another villain nearby, but there was barely any trace of Ravager.

"That's a good idea."

Cyborg sighed, "Phew, glad you agree."

"Only let's switch."

Her friend stopped running completely, which forced Raven to also halt. "I'm sorry, but last time I checked, half-demon skin isn't impervious to metal."

"But my force fields are. People will have any easier time listening to you. They'd just be scared of me." It had happened before on past missions. Especially when they had first become Titans. Half the time people would scream more when Raven approached than the villains. Raven pulled the hood more over her head at the memory. It hadn't exactly made her feel wanted. The transition to Earth had been difficult enough.

Cyborg scratched his chin in return, "Can't use that Justice League clout? And since when do you care if anyone's scared of you?"

She didn't. Not really at least. "Fine, I'll be honest."

"Good to hear."

Raven grimaced. "She hurt Garfield." A pause. "She's dangerous."

"And you want payback?"

She didn't see the point in hiding the fact that she did. Raven nodded and continued to walk forward. "Are we done here? I don't want to actually wait for that thing to hatch."

"Especially because you're the one transporting it away?"

Raven blinked at his comment, not really having all that information sink into her head until now. She had read the text on her communicator, and it was simple enough. Find the area as Nightwing and Beast Boy's teams feel out the hideout. Teleport back in if you don't run into trouble. Find the Egg and get it off the scanner. She knew that initially Nightwing meant to the Watchtower where the rest of the JLA would takeover. _But if time is limited..._

She couldn't breathe in space. But she would need to get rid of it in any way she cou-

"Run! Get out of her!"

The civilians were screaming to each other now, and Raven saw spots of blood on some of their shirts. It was time to act. She nodded to Cyborg who immediately started shouting for people to come over there, and she immediately saw a change in the crowd's direction. Raven levitated up for a better vantage point. Her purple eyes scanned for orange and black, for fast movements, for anything, and they stopped when she saw a small figure leaning against one of the stands. Her hands ran gingerly across the shining blade, blood dripping from its sharp edge.

Raven didn't waste any time. In a flash of black, she appeared in front of Ravager and raised a hand. The force was strong, and soon, the girl was rammed back through the wooden stand, tendrils of black energy wrapping around her limbs. Raven felt her eyes glow white. The energy was whipping back her cloak, but she remained tall and created a fist to tighten her hold.

Ravager squirmed and shouted, but suddenly stopped moving all together. The action surprised Raven, and the half-demon almost believed that Slade's daughter had already tired out. "Are you ready to give..."

"Nope." Ravager dug her feet into the fair grounds' muddy floor and flipped herself backwards, breaking Raven's physical and mental hold. The empath dropped to the ground, stunned by the action, and Ravager didn't waste any time. She rolled forward again, dodging splintered wood and broken glass. Raven could still hear dozens of footsteps clamper around them. Fear was permeating from their bodies. It prickled Raven's skin and sent an ounce of worry into her own mind. The civilians were thinning out now, but it didn't stop the girl from removing a sharp knife from her belt and aiming it towards a child's head.

"No! Don't!" Raven released a black sphere around the object. It immediately stopped accelerating towards the fleeing child. With a distinct clang, Raven let the object fall to the ground in safety. _I need to get her away from everyone. Where's Cyborg?! She'll hurt someone if we don't..._

A sharp pain suddenly surrounded her ribcage as she felt an elbow hit her chest. There was another blow-a punch to her collarbone. Raven grabbed at her throat at the contact. She wasn't too used to physical combat. She was lightly trained in martial arts but nothing to the caliber as other heroes, and, it seemed, nothing to Ravager as well. Slade's daughter sent a wild kick towards her head, and Raven was just able to shield her temple with an energy projected shield. "Azarath Metrion Zin..."

"Nuh, uh, ah." Ravager grabbed at her hood, her fingers digging into her scalp even through the fabric. She pulled viciously at her dark hair and then slid the silver blade underneath her chin. It burned. Raven could feel the metal start to cut, and drops of red blood clattered to the ground. "If you think I'll let those three words escape your lips, well..." She chuckled. "You certainly don't know me at all."

"Rose!"

It wasn't Cyborg. That was all Raven could process. It wasn't Cyborg so it couldn't be any friend of hers. She took Ravager's slight distraction and extorted it. Her body faded into a black raven and reappeared in the dark night sky. Ravager let her sword fall from its threatening position, "Damn it!" The metal swiped through the air, but Raven was feet above. "Don't be a coward! Fight me!"

There was a rumble in the distant. A low sound that reminded Raven of a rockslide or an avalanche. Memories of her last run in with Terra before she 'died' came back to her. The lava. The heat. _What's going on?  
><em>

The thought was only short-lived. Raven raised a gloved hand to her throat and attempted to heal herself. It was a dual sensation of both relief and pain, but her throat had stopped dripping blood.

"Rose, stop it."

Two figures finally came into view of the light, and Rose Wilson dropped her sword. The carelessness didn't last long however, and she was soon grabbing it, running up to both men with confusion in her one blue eye. "Traitor!" She swiped angrily though the air, but Red X dodged it and pushed his younger brother aside. "You're not helping her! You're not!"

"Rose, you don't know what you're doing." Red X flipped backwards away from the metal while Jericho just stood back idly. "You don't know what Slade is doing."

"Our father knows what's best for us. He knows how to help us."

"_Help_ us? Did he even tell you what he wanted from there? Rose, he's making you _kill_ people for him."

Raven became interested, "From _where_?"

The Wilsons ignored her. "Does it matter? He needs it. We should give it to him. We owe it to him."

"We don't owe him anything! None of us do! Especially you or Joey."

Ravager stopped her assault forward, "Joe...Joey?" She turned slowly away from Red X and to the blond boy standing beside her. His eyes were wide and green-huge and innocent, but to her they seemed unfamiliar. Raven could feel the torn emotion throughout Ravager's body. She was crippled with confusion, of not knowing who or what to trust. _What hell did she live through? Where was she when Jericho and Red X were growing up?_

The thought made her levitate to the ground, and Raven's boots soon touched the floor mere feet away from where Ravager, Red X, and Jericho stood. "I know you love him." Raven didn't leave room for any denial from Rose. When she pushed away the damage Ravager created-the people, Raven suddenly seemed to understand the villain all too well. "You love your father because you think you're supposed to. You're following his will blindly because what you really want is to be wanted."

Her purple eyes traced the blood across the fair grounds. There was too much of it. Whoever Ravager had hurt before was probably already dead. _She could have killed Gar just as easily. _Raven bit back the emotion. _Dick said to reason with her. We don't have time for a battle. We don't need losing to be an option. _ She let her empathy read the girl in front of her, and Raven felt her body calm even more.

Rose sniffed, "Don't pretend that you understand my feelings, Demon girl."

"You've got the wrong idea." Raven let a small smile come on her face and she lowered her hood off her face. "If anything, that's the only thing I understand."

"Raven's an empath." Grant offered. "She can literally feel your emotions for you."

"And manipulate them." Raven didn't surrender all of her guard. She wanted to maintain some of her intimidation. "But I'm not. Not now. You love Slade."

Rose hesitated but didn't rebuff the statement. "He's my father."

"My father used me to take over the world. He basically killed me in the process." Her voice was flat. "Sorry if I don't exactly understand your reasoning."

Rose fingered her sword, blood on her gloves."Is that supposed to scare me?"

"No. Trigon isn't your father. He's mine. And do you know why the world isn't ash right now?"

Her blue eye looked to her half-brothers, but neither of them lent any answer her way. Rose shook her head and turned away from both men to just stare Raven down. "Why am I even listening to this? I'm supposed to kill..."

"Because of me. I stood up to him. I stopped my father from destroying everything."

"My father isn't..."

"He is, Rose." Grant called from behind. "The Egg I stole isn't what we think it is. It destroyed the Tamaranean's whole planet. You know, that hot girl."

Rose shook her head, and Raven flinched back from the sudden emotion of disbelief. This girl was young, fragmented, and Raven didn't know how rational she could possibly be. _This could blow up in all of our faces. _ And Ravager almost confirmed her thoughts. "You're lying."

"Why would I lie?"

"Father wouldn't. He wouldn't put us at risk like that."

"We don't even know what he wants exactly."

Raven took a step closer. Ravager's hands were wobbling, her sword constantly catching light from the stands above. She was cracking, and Raven would just expose it more. "Tell me where he plans to bring the Egg, Rose." Her purple eyes stared directly to the blue one, and suddenly, Raven wondered if she even had another under that mask. "Please."

"I...he's not bringing it anywhere." She turned back to her brother. "Joey...Father never told me about you. He never told me about either of you."

Red X nodded, "He's lied to all of us."

"I...I don't..."

"Please, we don't have time." The low rumbling was sounding off again, and from the corner of her eye, Raven saw Cyborg run back to her, looking frantic. _His sensors must be detecting something_. "Tell me where he's taking the Egg to."

"No where. He doesn't need it anymore." Ravager lowered her sword completely and then suddenly turned back to her brothers. "Where did you two come from?"

That was right. Red X had been locked up in the Watchtower. Nightwing had put him there. "How did you get down here?"

"I was released. Nightwing let Joey stay with me for a while. You know so we could catch up. And then I was let out and came here. JLA gets sort of disorganized when faced with a possible disaster down below. Place sort of empties out."

Raven felt herself tense. Her eyes shot to Cyborg who was looking frantic. His robotic body was getting closer and closer, and in the distance, she could still hear the quakes. "Who?"

Red X scratched at his mask, "What do you mean?"

"_Who_ released you?" Her voice was louder. She could feel the dark energy flowing through her. The worry, the fear, the _hate_. She knew it before Red X could even begin saying the name, before Cyborg came up to all of them and said that earthquakes were rattling Jump City.

_Traitor. _ The word was never truer than it was right now.

* * *

><p>AN:

Uh oh. Sorry for the wait once again! But I will get to writing the next part soon. Hope you enjoyed!


	20. The Past is Not the Past

A/N:

...

If you thought I died, I don't blame you. I was blocked writing this and decided to be a real person for...a year or so. Which sucked. I hated it. Let's not do it again. But then I decided to check this story and remembered it's so close to being done with and then I checked this account and saw some recent reviews and knew I had to update.

If you're still with me from way back then THANKS. and if this garners new readers now because of this hated hiatus, then YAY THANKS TOO.

Thank you to my reviewers from the last chapter:

TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne:Oh Slade. He's not quite _that_ homicidal. Anymore...maybe...You'll see.

ssjEasterBunny: THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS. Have to be honest, but your recent review made me update. thanksthanksthanks. Your reviews have been so insightful and beneficial to me and has really given me focus for this story again. All my readers should thank you too.

Lightest'Ink:The question to every story that will be eventually answered.

MelonLord28: I think I can also blame those stories. I don't actually hate her...not in show Terra at least. Or crazy Terra. it's not her fault she's crazy!

horus346: Hahaha. Maybe that's Red X's hidden super powers-the power of caring.

Alchemist15: Raven was the one asking those questions! that accusatory empath! And I will try to make things clearer

Dancing Eyes: I AM. Months later...sorry.

The Cretin: Gar and Wally are both too awesome to not be friends. And I know! Brother Blood dreams are never a good sign :/

Sofia Michelle: I can't promise ASAP..but...there's this!

Miss Topaz: I can no longer accept apologies about not reviewing. I am terrible so you are forgiven!

obessissivereader95: thank you! emotions are hard but I'm glad you think I'm doing well!

IFacebookedYourMum: Sad isn't it :/ That is why I must finish.

Jason: You are most right. I do. And I did. I will write the next one now.

Whittaker: Mixing the cartoon and comic has been the greatest challenge for me. But I just can't ignore either one! Thanks!

2-shadows: Only Beast Boy could bring me out of my dry fanfic spell. He was successful.

Shadowknight: I WILL I PROMISE

anadylive: Believe it or not, this review also really helped me update. So thank you so much for giving me drive again!

Let's talk about how terrible I am. Or not. Let's read the story.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 18: The Past is Not the Past<em>

The whole city was shaking from underneath him. Gar narrowed his elongated eyes and dove downwards, feeling the Flash's grip on his back tighten in reaction. The air always calmed him. The feeling of wind flying across his leathery skin and outstretched wings was his form of meditation. And usually, he'd feel easier, lighter, with the air underneath him. But being aerial didn't calm the nerves in his head today. This was bad. The buildings were shaking. The ground was cracking under the vibrations of soil. Luckily, this was California and a lot of the skyscrapers were built for earthquakes, but some of them weren't. And the weird thing about this earthquake, Gar noticed, was that it seemed strangely concentrated. The shocks should have radiated off each other, spraying off the epicenter like wide ripples in a pond, but they didn't. They were focused, controlled, and the signs were clicking together in the changeling's head.

_Terra._

He turned his long head back to the red hero on his back, unable to vocalize his concerns. Flash looked slightly green from the flight, but he didn't comment on it. "BB, you're not."

_I have to go down there._

Flash seemed to be reading him. "Where the heck do you expect to land? Doubt any animal is invincible to piles of metal falling from the sky."

_No, but I have to make her stop. _ He twitched midflight and then started his dive down, not giving Flash any warning. But luckily, the Flash was, if anything, fast, and his speedy reactions prepared him for the steep dive down into Jump City streets.

"Flash!"

The speedster dismounted and turned to the deep voice behind him. "Supes?"

"I was just about to call you." The Kryptonian hovered slightly above the ground, unaffected by the soft shakes on the street. He was flanked by Wonder Woman and Batman on his right and left. "Justice League is handling the evacuation of the city. Is that Beast Boy?"

"Yes, sir." Gar morphed back into his human state and gave a slight salute. "On a Titans' mission, sir."

Superman raised an eyebrow, "Titans? I thought you guys dismantled."

"Re-mantled for this mission, sir. Nothing like the end of the world to bring old friends together."

The older man gave a slight laugh, "Guess so. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting then. I thought we could use your ability, Flash, to get the people out faster, but if you already have an assignment..."

"JLA responsibilities trump Titans, doesn't it?" Gar looked around, but neither the Flash nor the rest of the Justice League gave an answer. "Hey, I'm cool with it. And to be honest, getting everyone out is more vital right now then what I'm about to do." _And it's probably better that I do this alone anyway._

Batman wasn't so apt to agree. "Getting the Regenerative Egg out of Slade's hands should be a top priority."

Gar shrugged and attempted to steady himself as another soft rumble sounded off from below. "That's not exactly my call right now. Are any of your guys on it? I mean, besides Flash and Raven."

"Majority of the Justice League is currently on the ground evacuating their assigned areas." Batman eyed Beast Boy closely, as if there was a disguised joke in his statement. "Some are remaining with the Tamaraneans in the Watchtower."

"And they'll be sure to help Raven when she gets that thing out of here?"

"Of course."

Gar nodded and held a hand out to Flash. "Been nice working with you. Better get going."

The speedster returned the handshake. "'Course, Gar. But you'll be okay? I mean, you have to get back to the hideout, find Slade, and..."

"It'll be fine." He didn't bother to mention that he wasn't heading there. He didn't like the way Batman was staring at him already. "Gotta run though! See ya!" Gar didn't wait for any sort of response before transforming into a cheetah and sprinting through the cracked streets. _Where are you?_

His heart hammered against his chest, the sound echoing through his ears. Flash was gone, which was good, Gar thought. He needed to speak with her by herself. He needed to get her to listen, and it would easier without someone else next to him. _Terra, why are you doing this?_

She didn't have her powers before. Maybe a little bit, a shade of her previous self, but this was anything but a mere shadow. The focused quakes were starting to spread. People were running, only to be intercepted by some caped hero and led away towards safety. Gar could feel his paws vibrate as the quakes became more and more violent, and he soon had to shift again-back to a falcon-in order to keep moving.

It was a few more yards ahead that he saw her. She was on a self-made pillar of asphalt and stone, her hands held out, blonde hair covering half her face as she flexed her fingers and hands. It was too familiar to Beast Boy. He remembered when they were young, holding hands and leaning in to kiss when Slade had told him she was a spy. _I thought she was just confused. _ He remembered her standing above them, those earth creatures crawling from their pits. She had tried to kill him. She let him fall, and she thought she had killed all of his friends-all of _her_ friends-too.

The feeling was burning through him. His heart ached, his mouth felt dry. Terra had killed Slade and sacrificed herself for it. To him, that was redemption. He had allowed himself to forgive her, just a little bit, but now that once confused girl had slammed redemption back into his face. "Terra!"

Her hands faltered. The blonde, blue-eyed girl glanced down from her tower of stone, and her face fell immediately. "Be-Beast Boy?"

"What are you doing?!" His voice sounded strained from shouting up to her, but luckily for him, Terra pushed the column back into the destroyed street. She walked slowly towards him, shame written over every inch of her face. And Gar just couldn't reign in his anger. She was dressed in civilian clothes, but he just couldn't get the picture of her and Slade working together _again_ out of his head. "What is _wrong _with you?!"

"Beast Boy, please..." She reached out to touch his face.

"Don't!" Gar inched back. "I don't get you, Terra. How could you do that?! You went back to him! We tried to protect you and you _went straight to him_! Why?!"

She lowered her head, "Don't ask me that."

"What?" His green eyes flared. "What do you mean 'don't ask you that'?! I have every right..."

"You have _no_ right. You have absolutely no right at all to ask me that. Who are you to me, Beast Boy? An old teammate? An ex-boyfriend?" She smirked, "News to you, BB, but I was barely your teammate, and we never even kissed. You..." Terra's eyes flickered yellow, but she inhaled, "You never even loved me, did you? Not once. Not for a second."

He didn't try to deny it. "We were so young, Terra. You can't say that you loved me either."

"I never said that." She reached again towards him, this time for his hands. Gar didn't move away. He let her touch him, and he immediately sensed the powerful energy return to her body. "I went back to Slade."

He shivered away but didn't break the hold. "Did he..."

"He used the Egg to give me my power backs. The outer layer...it's powerful stuff. It was just an injection and then..." Her fingers flexed and rocks scattered across the street. "_This_."

_It's the energy of an entire planet. _The outer shell of the Black Star was its food supply. It was how the creature managed to survive miles and miles and miles of space travel, constantly regenerating its own inner body if it every strayed just a little too close to a real star. "You didn't want it back."

"I didn't want to be a part of your team. I..." She glanced downwards. "I didn't want to lose you. Maybe it wasn't love, Garfield, but I trusted you. The Titans were my family even if it was for a short time." Her eyes watered. "I didn't want to screw that up. Not again."

"Terra." He couldn't help himself from hugging her, from letting his gloved hand trail through her golden hair. Maybe he still cared a little for her or maybe he just hated to see girls cry, but for whatever reason, Gar tried to comfort her even though one thought was still nagging his mind. "I-I just don't..."

"Please." She broke away and let her limbs fall to her side, the wind moving her hair from her face. "Please just trust me too."

* * *

><p>"You're crazy." Nightwing gritted his teeth and outstretched his arms. It was irrational, actually, to attempt to guard Starfire from Slade. Starfire was tougher than he was by a long shot, but Nightwing couldn't help the strain of protectiveness in him. His arms quivered from the tension in his muscles. He wouldn't let this psychopath hurt her. He wouldn't let him <em>touch<em> her.

Slade was smiling behind the mask. It was a cold, secret smile that Dick couldn't see but certainly felt. His spine bristled under the man's empty stare. "Now, now, Robin. There's no point in name-calling."

"Slade." Starfire hovered above Nightwing's arm level. "What you are doing is putting the people of this Earth in grave danger, including yourself!"

"I know what I'm doing."

"But the Egg is not..."

"The Black Star." Slade smiled at their gaping expressions, "Quite an interesting creature, really. Deadly on the inside, completely regenerative on the outside. Tell me, Robin, when have your scientists determined the thing would hatch? 10 days? Three months?"

Nightwing had nothing to say to that. He had no idea when it would hatch. "I..." _Slade's lost his mind completely._

"You don't know." Slade's one eye gleamed. "Expected. Star Labs has the improper funding and...ethical code for that matter. Let me enlighten you." He outstretched his hands and cracked his knuckles before drawing a metal bow staff from his back. "The Black Star is a reactive creature." He swung lightly towards Nightwing and Starfire, and both of the heroes inched back in surprise. "Yes, exactly like that. It reacts to danger. It'll feed and feed and feed off its regenerative shell until it finally _cracks._"

"Stop it!" Starfire shouted and sent green starbolts flurrying towards Slade's head. He dodged all of them easily, back-flipping and rolling on his side without any sign of injury. But the Tamaranean wouldn't stop. She kept the barrage of energy blasts coming towards Slade's direction, and soon, bits of the ceiling and walls came crumbling to the floor-now debris.

Nightwing jumped to reach the hovering princess and dragged her back down to the ground, a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Kory, stop." His masked eyes strayed to Slade, and he could still sense that foreboding smile. _What is he planning? _ There was no time to figure it out though with a hostile alien inches away from him. "If Slade is right, you have to be careful. Wrecking this place would put us all in danger if the Black Star is here. We can't have it hatch prematurely."

"But how are we to know that he is telling the truth?" Starfire spat, her glowing green eyes still glued on Slade. "This is Slade, Dick. He is not to be trusted."

"I know that, Kory. But what are we..."

"Talking, talking." Slade walked forward, and as much as Nightwing wanted to move back, he didn't dare give the villain the satisfaction to see him retreat. "Robin, why don't we finish this?"

"It's what he wants, Nightwing. Don't let him get to you." Starfire's grip on his shoulders tightened under her own stress. "You have just calmed me from the fighting. Do not let him drag you into it too."

"Not here." Nightwing's teeth were gritted. He knew Starfire was right, that he should be listening to her, but a part of him wanted to fight Slade. A part of him—a large part—wanted this to finally be over, to see this man's body bleeding on the ground and then rotting in a cell. "I'll fight you Slade, but not in front of the Egg."

Slade's face was hidden behind his mask, but Nightwing swore he was smiling. "And leave it right here were you or your little friends can get it? I'm not quite done with the Black Star just yet."

"You're putting the Earth at risk, Slade. Everything will be destroyed, just like when you worked with Trigon. Only Raven can't help this time."

"Hmph. I am not putting my trust in demons anymore. Don't worry. I prefer much more...malleable allies."

Starfire's grip fell. "What?"

"Robin, I'm on a strict schedule." Slade tapped his arms. "Shall we or not?"

"Not here," Nightwing repeated, his arm fidgeting with anxiety. Reason wouldn't work, Nightwing realized, but he couldn't fight Slade by the Egg. If what he was saying was true, much more than his life would be at risk, and no amount of vengeance was worth that.

"Fine." Slade snapped his fingers, and green lasers scattered around the room—not attacking the two former Titans but acting as a string of barriers. A loud alarm sounded across the dark halls, and Starfire held her ears in pain. Her bare knees scraped across the metal grates of the floor, and Nightwing started to move towards her, but Slade's voice held him back. "I can't have the Tamaranean looking for it. That wouldn't be very smart of me."

"DICK!" She rolled over. The pitch was screeching, bitingly sharp, but Nightwing remained still, not nearly as affected by the noise as Starfire was. It was loud for sure, but the noise affected Starfire in a visceral, painstaking way. She seemed to squirm, agonized by the thrumming noise. "MAKE IT STOP!"

"Robin, are you coming?" Slade asked, extending his hand as if inviting him casually. "I cannot waste time."

_Kory... _ Nightwing's eyes flashed from behind his mask, looking back to Slade and then to Starfire writhing on the ground. "I...I can't..."

"Then we fight here." Slade cracked his knuckles. "But I'll have to make it quick."

* * *

><p>"Trust you?" Gar blinked, as if that would confirm what he had just heard from her. <em>Trust her<em>? He tried to. He _was_ trying to, but this. This was too much. She had crawled her way back to Slade, just like she did before, and for what exactly? Gar took a step back from Terra, breaking the closeness she had created. "...why are you doing this?"

"I wanted my powers back, BB."

"But _why_?" He thought of himself, of Raven, of Cyborg and the many other Titans he knew that would have killed to have their powers taken away for good. Oh sure, he would miss the team—he had already experienced that firsthand—but Terra didn't have that anymore. And she admitted herself that she didn't want to be a part of the Titans again. _She never did, not really. She wanted to feel like she belonged somewhere. _And having earth-bending powers was the opposite of fitting in with anything but superheroes. Or super villains. "Terra, if you want me to trust you, you have to be honest with me."

"Honest?" She brushed her hair back before shaking her head. "Never mind. You shouldn't have come here, Beast Boy. You won't understand."

"Of course I won't understand, Terra." He was getting frustrated. They were going around in circles and he didn't have time for that. "How am I supposed to understand something you won't even say?"

"Just leave me alone, okay? Go back to the Titans and do whatever it is real super heroes do. Leave me alone." She lifted a wall of rocks, dividing them completely.

"Terra..." He placed a gloved hand on the stone, seeing how damaged this girl was. Whatever memories of smiles and laughter he had with her were now etched with the realizations that this girl was not stable. This girl didn't know how to make decisions—good decisions—and Gar didn't know how to help her. "I want to trust you, Terra. I do. But you have to tell me what's going on. Where's Slade and Ravager? You know don't you?"

The wall of rock seemed to harden. "I don't know why you would think that."

"Would you stop going around the issue? God, Terra. You want me to be trust you, to respect you again...well stop making it so hard to! I don't expect you to be a Titan." Gar banged his fist on the rock. "But I expect you to not work against us. You _saved_ us once. Don't you remember? You can save us again."

"I killed you once too. Aren't we square?" Her voice was flat, emotionless.

Gar edged back. She wasn't listening. "I...I don't understand you."

"Do you want to try?" The rock wall cracked and soon fell completely, falling like crumbs on the earth. Terra walked over the rubble. "I never told you anything about myself."

"I didn't either, Terra." _I didn't tell the Titans anything until my past literally showed up at our doorstep_. Gar sighed and glanced at his yellow communicator. He knew what he was supposed to be doing—he needed to stop Slade and Ravager. But right now, he thought this was important. Terra was better as a friend than an enemy. "But yeah, sure. Shoot."

The ground beneath them rumbled, and a circle of earth soon rose from the ground, acting like a flying carpet for both Terra and Gar. "First I need to do something."

* * *

><p>She wanted to teleport immediately and find her. Finding the epicenter of the quakes would just be guesswork, but Raven didn't really care at the moment. She was causing this. She let Red X escape—which now turned out to be a good thing, but there was no way Terra would have known that. Her mind started clicking with instances and scenarios she should have realized hours ago but didn't. She came with them so willingly. She was hiding in plain sight, in places where Slade or Ravager could have easily gotten to her if they wanted to badly enough. For someone that constantly traveled, why didn't she leave right after she was resurrected? Why stay here—a constant reminder of her betrayal—when she had no ties to anything, wanted no ties with anyone?<p>

"I can't believe this."

Cyborg placed a hand on her shoulder, and she wondered if her eyes were red. "Raven, what's wrong?"

"It's Terra."

The name actually seemed to affect Ravager more than Cyborg. "Finally decided to show her face then." All eyes turned to Rose Wilson, who's one eye glanced down to the ground. "Dad's apprentice. She came back for her powers. Dad told her that she could get them back with the Black Star."

"Rose?" Red X raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember seeing her. I thought you were trying to find her."

"You weren't there. But that's one of the reasons why Dad wanted it. He talked to Terra before he talked to you...Grant. But she ran before you enlisted. It's been my job to get her back since, but that doesn't seem...necessary anymore."

_What? _ Raven swallowed. "Cyborg, I'm finding her. She was at the Watchtower. Who knows what kind of..."

Raven was interrupted by shrill laughter coming from Ravager. "You _what_? You actually brought her there?"

"It was the safest place. We thought we were protecting..."

Her laughter was loud, annoying, and Raven attempted to wash it out. She was never really fond of laughter anyway, especially this kind. "Idiots. I can't believe that plan actually worked."

"What plan?" Red X asked. "What's going on?"

"I'll explain." Her eye flashed to Jericho then to the former Titans. "For a price."

Raven shook her head. "No. The JLA does not negotiate with villains."

"This isn't the JLA," Cyborg pointed to the yellow communicator on her belt. "What do you want?"

"Immunity." Ravager raised her hands in innocence, but the swords on her back stopped Raven from feeling anything but distrust. "From all my past crimes. I swear I won't do anything bad again."

Raven scoffed. "And we can take your word? Cyborg, this is..."

"Raven, we won't have time to prosecute her if the world is destroyed."

He had a point. Raven didn't nod or say anything, which Cyborg rightfully took as her agreement. He gestured for Ravager to continue her story. "Dad has some issues with heroes, especially the JLA as you know. I'm guessing it's the same with the boys here but, I didn't know who my father was until later in life. And when I found out, I immediately realized we had a similar...skill set."

"You're a mercenary?" Cyborg asked.

"Yes. For a while I didn't care who I killed as long as the price was right. I didn't bother to ask questions. More information only makes it harder." Ravager's voice became softer. "I hear sirens. Can we not talk here?"

"Make it quick and then I'll transport us back to your base," Raven said in a low voice.

"Why?"

"To stop your father. Continue."

"Well, you're good with words, aren't you? I never agreed to that. He's still my father."

Raven felt black energy in her hands, and Cyborg immediately stepped between them. "I wouldn't push Raven right now. Usually she has a better handle on her emotions." He shot her a glare. "But she's feeling a little edgy from what you did to our other team member."

"Oh the cute green one?" Ravager smirked. "All in a day's work, hun. Didn't mean to hurt your boyfriend. Well, actually I did, but he's not dead, so no harm, no foul." Ravager turned her attention to her brothers. "Anyway, Slade talked to me about a job. I must have popped on his radar after some assassination I made in Asia. He offered me a lot of money and information."

Raven breathed out, focusing again on the mission and not Gar's blood on the streets. "About what?"

"About who I was. I was adopted by a nice family, before they were..." Ravager was still looking at her brothers. "I knew I had a family. I just didn't know what happened to them."

"And Slade promised you information about them?"

"He said he used to work in the government. He knew my name, where I was born, my birth mother, everything. I believed his word and I agreed to do his mission."

"Which is?" Raven asked.

"The earthquakes stopped." Ravager cracked her knuckles, stalling. "He also told me the JLA killed my brother...that they ruined him. Grant, you're not though. You're right here? You're Red X?"

"Your family died." Raven was reading her, her empathetic abilities giving her more and more information than Rose's words could. "Murdered?"

Ravager tensed. "Yes."

"Who killed them?"

"...an assassin. Named DeFarge. He's dead now though. I made sure of that."

_Perfect. _ Raven hated to crack people. She knew how fragile emotions were, how sensitive someone's psyche could easily be manipulated and used against themselves. But right now, that was exactly what she needed. "DeFarge is a hired assassin. I remember the JLA looking into a case he had done on a family in Chicago. Don't you, Cyborg?"

The half-robot, half-man nodded. It was when they were still Titans. The case was brutal, unexpected, and although it happened in the midwest, Batman had called Robin up to investigate the crimes further. "The Madisons. I remember Nightwing saying it was connected to some guy named S. Wilson. He couldn't sleep for weeks after that. He thought Slade was still alive."

Raven nodded. "He was."

"You're...you're saying that Slade killed my family?" Rose's voice was faltering, failing. She reached to clench her sword but stopped herself, instead screaming so harshly and loudly that it almost covered the sound of the crumbling buildings in the distance. "That...that bastard! How dare he! How dare he take them away from me! Take _everything _away from me!"

"I say let's return the favor, Rose." Grant placed a hand on her shoulder and even Jericho came up closer to her.

"I..."

"Rose, please." Cyborg moved to her. "What is Slade planning? What is he doing with the Black Star?"

"It has a lot of energy. But he needed to know where to send it. I was supposed to get the information from you." She pointed to Raven. "Or some other member, but Terra seemed to do it for him. I thought she quit. Little sneak."

"Send it where?" Though Raven thought she already knew the answer. She needed to hear it though. Before her mind could even process what that would mean, she needed Ravager to admit it. "Rose, please."

Ravager breathed before pointing up to the sky, up where the Watchtower was orbiting above them.

* * *

><p>AN:

shorter than my previous ones, but I wanted to get this out ASAP after this terrible, terrible break. Um. Please forgive me past readers. I am sorry. I promise to update sooner and get back to better character development and plot and such than this chapter has. I promise. Thank you for your continued support!


	21. Barriers

A/N:

I'm updating a little faster on this one. Much faster. I still feel terrible. I think after this though I may have to do weekly updates. Though it's almost over! (gasp)

Thanks readers for reading this story! And specialsuper thanks for my reviewers are reviewing. They just make me feel warm and fuzzy, which is nice in January.

Special thanks to reviewers I received from last chapter:

Katwizzle: Here it is! And it's not in the Watchtower...yet.

Whitakker: Oh phew! I was worried how some people would perceive Terra. But she was always a little nuts in my mind.

MelonLord28: You won't have to wait that long!

FairyVampire: Thanks! The Wilson Family is an interesting bunch of...people.

Dancing Eyes: I'm glad you like it!

SapphireDragon15: I think you're a little behind on the chapters, but I'll just thank you here: thanks! And no offense taken! I love the Flash too! And he will be alright :)

NicolethePenguin: Ah! Always nice to hear that my story is review-worthy. I promise no ridiculous-amount-of-months in between updates from here on out! And I'm glad you're liking the plot development. It took a while to plan! I am flattered.

I forgot the disclaimer last chapter and somehow didn't get sued. Huh. DC is obviously slacking.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, otherwise Beast Boy would still be green.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 19: Barriers<em>

"Star, get out of here."

She didn't answer him, and Nighwing went down to her body on the ground. Slade was in front of him, waiting, tapping his hand on his arm, but Nightwing couldn't focus on that. Though he wanted to. He wanted to fight Slade and end everything right now, but he couldn't leave Starfire, not like this.

"Dick...go." She breathed through her teeth. "There's...nothing...you have to stop him."

"Star, I want you to use your starbolts." He leaned down to whisper to her. His eyes went to Slade, then to the surrounding area. It was bare—walls and nothing but the small cylinders on the ceilings producing the noise. "The alarms are in this room. I can get some, but I need you to get the others."

"Dick...it..."

"You're stronger than this." He rubbed her arms. "I love you, Kory. You can do this." He smiled when she nodded. "On three. One, two..."

"Three!" Starfire eyes shone green as she flew up, tossing starbolts in the corners of the room. Blood was trickling out of her ears, and Nightwing prayed that the energy wouldn't awaken the Black Star, wherever it was.

Slade seemed to panic as Nightwing threw his own birdarang towards an alarm, shattering it and stopping the noise from permeating through the space any longer. The villain's arms fanned out, as if to catch or stop the attacks, and soon he was yelling, "Wait, stop!"

Starfire didn't. Not until the last one was destroyed and the sirens finally stopped. She landed back to the ground, eyes still green, voice deep and angry. "You will pay greatly for what you have done! You are a cheap, vile, krumblogger and I will not rest until you are stopped!"

"Star, shoot more starbolts," Nightwing said, eyes trained on Slade.

"It would be a most pleasurable experience, Nightwing. I will be glad to..."

"NO!"

She let her hand of green energy fall at Slade's voice, and Nightwing grinned at the villain's reaction. "What?"

"You...you can't."

"Why not?" Nightwing stepped forward. "Why does it matter, Slade? Can't have the Black Star destroying the Earth early?"

"Now, now, Robin. No need to reveal the grand finale...yet." His hand went to his belt and pulled an orange and black ball. Before Nightwing or Starfire could move, the ball was released to the ground in a flash of smoke and blinding light.

When both of their eyes readjusted, Nightwing turned in everywhere direction but found no sight of Slade. He was gone, but the former Boy Wonder didn't dwell on it. He couldn't. "Kory, are you alright?"

"I am fine." Her hands went to her ears, touching the dripping blood. "It is fortunate Tamaraneans have multiple ear drums. Though that sound..."

"I forget sometimes that aliens have different physiologies." Nightwing reached to his own ears, but they were undamaged. "You sure though?" He rubbed her arms when he reached her. "You're okay?"

"Yes, but Slade is gone. I do not know how he escaped. Her own eyes scanned the seemingly enclosed space. "The Earth..."

"He isn't using the Black Star to destroy the Earth."

"He is not?"

Nightwing shook his head. "Otherwise he wouldn't care if we blew it up now or not. He's waiting for something."

"But what, Dick?"

Nightwing didn't answer. Not because he didn't know, although that was certainly true, but because a black shadow of a large raven was suddenly in the room, materializing to reveal five new figures standing across from them.

"What happened here?" The one eyed girl asked. Her costume shocked Nightwing, but he didn't display it on his face. He just watched as she walked around, looking at the destroyed security systems and Starfire's blood on the floor. It was obvious to Nightwing who this was, but what wasn't clear was why she didn't seem like an enemy.

"Ravager." Nightwing approached the girl in the orange and black before turning to Raven. "What's going on?"

"Wilson family reunion, Rob." Red X smirked. "Rose here is a little late to the party. But that's cool."

"My father is a manipulative liar that deserves to die." Rose Wilson sheathed one of her swords. "Where is the bastard? He's about to lose another eye."

"I was hoping you could tell us. He escaped, but we don't know where to," Nightwing admitted.

"Bastard and Terra are probably trying to release the Black Star early."

Raven touched her hands to Starfire's temple, healing her ears, no questions. "Ravager explained to all of us. If the Black Star has enough energy left from the last planet, it can act as a time bomb. It'll travel to other planets, explode and then absorb all the energy released from the other planet." Raven seemed impassive, but her eyes gave away some worry. "It can last on a planet for decades or centuries if its calm enough and slowly drain it dry-like on Tamaran- but a reactive planet, one that's disturbed constantly can quicken the process."

Nightwing's mind went back to what Ravager said. "Terra. He's using Terra's powers to make it explode? How can he possibly control it?"

"Her geokinetic abilities allow her to slowly disturb the Black Star. With the proper timing, they could use it like an atomic bomb—10 atomic bombs. And it gives them time to target instead of just blindly hitting it with something else."

"Target what?"

Raven noticeably stiffened, which did nothing but disturb Nightwing more. She didn't give him time to ask her again though. "They're targeting the Watchtower, Nightwing."

He froze and felt the chills run along his back. So many heroes were there, his—Bruce was there. "Someone needs to tell the Justice League right away."

"Already done." Cyborg gestured to his arm. "The Tamaraneans and the remaining heroes left on board are evacuating."

_Good. _But there was one thing not fitting with the facts already laid out. "The Watchtower is an orbiting satellite. He'll need a read on its coordinates constantly in order to accurately get a mark."

"Or he needs someone to get on the stupid ship and attach a tracker." Rose was waving her sword, obviously impatient. "I don't think it'll take you too long to guess who's responsible for that one."

Nightwing immediately turned to Red X who held up his hands innocently. "No, man. Terra. Not me."

"Let's not talk about that right now." Raven took out her communicator. "I'm calling Gar. We have Ravager here and she knows where to find the Black Star. He and Flash can join us." The communicator rang and rang but there was no answer. Raven looked unimpressed and pressed the call button again. "...This isn't like him."

"No need to panic, Raven." Cyborg said.

"I'm not panicking."

"Go find him." Nightwing didn't have time to try and convince Raven to do anything otherwise. "Try calling Flash and get him and Beast Boy here. I think there are enough of us to go after Slade now. You guys can catch up."

"Right." Raven nodded before adding, "Thank you."

"Just go."

She did in a flash of black energy and wings, and Nightwing turned to Ravager. Despite how she looked and what she had done, he felt himself pushing his hard feelings aside. "Thank you for helping us."

"I'm just returning a favor." Ravager walked to a seemingly solid wall. "Time to settle some things with dear old daddy."

Cyborg scratched his head, "Raven and her would get along better than they think."

* * *

><p>Gar felt queasy on the floating platform of dirt. He wanted to turn into a bird and fly, but he wouldn't be able to keep up with Terra. He thought about changing into a turtle or something sturdier than this, but his stomach lurched before he could even attempt to. "Where are we going?"<p>

Terra didn't answer. She had no goggles, and at the speed she was going, dirt and debris were flying into both of their faces. Gar remembered his mask he had with the Doom Patrol. He strangely missed it now.

They were out of Jump City by now—not far away but well beyond the city limits. Terra stopped the rock platform and jumped off. Gar did the same right before the stone structure collapsed back to the ground.

"I don't know what to do." Terra rubbed her arm forcefully, her fingers creating red streaks on her skin. Gar could see the confusion in her eyes, the flashes of uncertainty that seemed to be eating at her. "You're going to hate me."

"I won't." Gar didn't know if he was lying or not but he said it anyway.

"You were right about me and Slade." Terra didn't look up at him. "...You have to understand though. He saved me."

"No, Terra. Raven saved you. She was the one who stopped Trigon and turned everything back to normal." He didn't care that Slade got her soul to bring back. Whatever. Without Slade, there would be nothing to go back to. It was like Slade claiming he was a Warp Trek fan when he only saw the fifth one.

But Terra obviously didn't agree. She shook her head. "Raven didn't. I was already dead. If she saved me, everyone who had died would be back too."

Gar fumbled. "Well, um, maybe it was because you weren't really dead, Terra. You know? You were stone."

"No, Beast Boy. I was dead."

"I'm...I'm sorry." He swallowed. Gar was getting nervous again. The threatening Terra seemed to return, and he felt himself closing up.

"It's okay. I never expected to have a second chance, BB. I...thought I was doing the right thing. I thought you guys were my family."

"Terra, we are. We loved you." Gar grabbed her hand, half-heartedly, hoping his nerves weren't showing. "Maybe...maybe not in the way we once thought. I mean, I loved you as a friend, Terra. Like I love Starfire and Cy, and NW."

"And Raven."

He was a bad liar, but Gar agreed. "Yeah, and Raven."

"You didn't try though. You didn't try anything to save me."

His mind raced. Was she accusing him of something? Was she really trying to take away from her sacrifice like this? "What were we supposed to do?"

"Find a way. You could have found a way, Beast Boy. If Robin or Starfire or Cyborg or Raven died, you guys would have done something."

"Terra..." She was irrational. Gar didn't know how to talk to her. "What are you talking about?"

"You guys didn't care! Don't try and tell me you did. I _saved_ you from the one man that actually wanted to make a better life for me, and you still think I'm a traitor. I saw the way Starfire looked at me. And you too, Beast Boy. I thought we had something."

She was screaming at him, her voice loud and endless in the abandoned landscape. There was barely anything in this field they were standing on: only them and a crushed pile of rock. Grass rubbed against Gar's skintight uniform, and he felt his communicator vibrate and ring on his belt. _Not the best timing, guys._

Terra stared at him, waiting for him to answer it, expecting him to, but Gar didn't. "I don't know what you want me to do. I can tell you how thankful we are for what you did. You...you were a Titan to us then, Terra. And we missed you. Cyborg did some research, and even Raven looked through some of her books to see..."

"Did she?"

"Yeah." Gar was surprised when Raven had too. He never thought they liked each other much. "She did."

"Then she would have found what Slade found. Slade partnered with Trigon in order to bring me back."

He shook his head, green hair becoming shaggier. "No, Terra. He did it to bring himself back."

"He bargained for _me_, Beast Boy. He told me. While Robin was looking for Raven, Slade was looking for me." Terra gave a pitying laugh. "You guys wouldn't have even thought of that, would you?"

"I'm sorry that you weren't a top priority at the moment. I was sort of trying to defeat an evil twin of myself _and_ Raven's father, but yeah." Gar was becoming increasingly agitated as he realized talking to Terra would bring him nowhere. She...she wasn't stable. And after hearing this story, he wondered if it was from being brought back from the dead. Slade's deal with Trigon led him to instability as well. "Sorry. My bad."

Her eyes turned yellow, and rocks started circling over head. Gar waited for them to pelt him—he had a transformation in mind—but they didn't. Instead, Terra held out her hand and calmed everything down. "It doesn't matter anymore. He's the one who needs me."

"For what?"

"For the Black Star."

His skin chilled like someone just threw a bucket of water, drenching him to the bare bone. He felt nauseous again. The bile in his stomach was threatening to heave out from her casual admittance, her complete apathy for what she just said. "You're helping Slade with the Black Star." His breath became heavy. "Terra...you're going to help a madman do unspeakable things."

"No."

"You are." He couldn't be having this conversation again. He didn't know how many times he could deal with this girl anymore. Terra the Titan. Terra the apprentice. Terra who wasn't Terra. And now this. "You are and you have to own up to that. Take the credit. You're a bad guy. Stop trying to confuse me into thinking you're something else."

"I don't want to be." She was holding her hand out now, towards the skyscrapers in the distance, and Gar knew she was causing more and more earthquakes. Her hand was fidgeting, her whole body seemed to fidget, and soon she was turning back to face him, blue eyes wide. "Beast Boy, aren't you going to stop me?"

He didn't say anything. This was too much for his tiny brain. No, this was too much for all of him—heart and body too. Gar just stared at her and gripped his communicator. He needed backup. He needed Raven here to help him with this.

"BB, please." She fell to the ground, and before he knew it, she began to cry. "I don't know what to do."

_Me either._

"Is he controlling your body again?" Beast Boy kneeled down to her and grabbed her shoulders. No, he wasn't controlling her. She was just torn. And despite all he said, he couldn't just let her lay there and cry. "Terra, you'll be okay."

Her head was shaking in disagreement, tears falling all over her face. She sniffed, snot heavy in her throat, and wiped her eyes. Gar pulled her closer and let her cry over his shoulder. He could feel her chest rise and fall against him, and she felt so small in his arms, so helpless and afraid.

It was amazing how easily she could change. It seemed like she had a switch in her head, turning off and on constantly. And Gar felt his emotions respond to the trigger. This was the type of stuff that would give Raven a headache. His mood changed from pissed to frustrated to guilty to sad so fast, so abruptly, that Gar couldn't really keep track of it anymore.

"I know you're confused right now." He didn't know what the right thing to say was, if there was a right thing to say. "But don't do anything you'll regret."

"Regret." Terra nodded, tasting the word in her mouth. "He's so manipulative, Beast Boy. I know what he's doing is wrong, but he gets into your head, and I can't do anything to get him out."

"I'll help you." He stood up and grabbed her hands to help her stand as well. Terra then pulled him into a hug. Her face was still wet, but Gar still needed information from her. Emotions could be pushed aside for later, after the Earth wasn't in danger of being destroyed. "Where's the Black Star?"

She bit her lip, shaking her head.

"Terra, please help me. I know you've been helping Slade, but that's okay." It wasn't, not really, but Gar ignored that. Other things he could think about later. "Just help me too."

The blonde kept shaking her head, hair flying everywhere "No, I can't."

"You don't know?"

"I can't let you go there. I can't. I won't." Terra raised both her arms quickly, and a wall of stone soon divided them from each other. Dirt crumbled around the changeling, and Gar edged back, trying to run.

But another wall followed him on the other side. He was forced to turn around, which was a mistake. The dirt poured around him, making a hollow pillar. It was too narrow for him to transform into anything that wasn't smaller than he normally was. It was too tall to climb out of, and any chance of him flying out was taken away as the earth formed a ceiling overhead, blocking any light and air.

"TERRA!" He banged on the stone. It was airtight. Not even his bacteria form could get him out. Both of his shoulders were touching stone when he stood sideways, and Gar felt squeezed, claustrophobic. A T-Rex or a rhino would only cause him to scrape and bang his body on the rock.

Far up, he saw a small light break through the stone. "Beast Boy, this is for your own safety. Don't worry. I'll come back for you."

"Terra, don't..." The hole was already closed. Gar couldn't hear her move away or the sound of the wind, and he wondered how thick these walls were. It was so dark, so claustrophobic, and memories started to pour back to him like rushing water—_of _rushing water. Gar fumbled for his communicator, not daring to let his mind go down to those dark thoughts. _Keep cool, Logan. _ _You'll get out of this_. His hands were sweaty, the communicator only staying in his palms because of his gloves. "Raven?" He held the communicator up to his pointed ears and ignored her annoyed shouts of him not answering the phone before. Gar rocked the device. "Can you track me with the communicators, please?"

"Garfield?" She had the video screen up. Gar saw her face in the darkness, and she might have seen him, at least an outline, from the blue light of the screen. Her purple eyes squinted. "I can't see you."

"I'm a little stuck."

There was no hesitation and no more annoyance in her voice. "I'll be right there."

He smiled, the dark thoughts leaving, even after her screen turned off. "I know."

* * *

><p>She didn't have time to call Flash. It would take thirty seconds, maybe less, but Raven didn't bother. Wally was supposed to be with Gar, and she had just been contacted by him. The image of Gar's voice sounding in the dark frightened her. The yellow communicator was already out, and she punched in 'Beast Boy'.<p>

Raven hated relying on maps for this, but she stared at the dot on the screen. He was miles from where she was, and she didn't know what sort of animal form could have gotten the green man there in such a short time. _Why is he even there?_ It probably wasn't by choice, which made Raven memorize the coordinates even faster.

Flash wasn't with him. If he was in the area with his communicator, 'Kid Flash' would have appeared by Beast Boy's name on the screen. Raven didn't pause anymore. She teleported immediately to the coordinates on the screen, only to be met by a tower of rock.

"Beast Boy?!" She yelled but received no answer, and she wondered if she was too late, if he was just a mess of bones and green skin under the weight of stone in front of her. The thought wasn't allowed to stay in her mind for long. _No, don't jump to conclusions. He just called you._

He had to be here alive, and Raven turned on her empathy. The emotion of fear and hurt hit her hard, and she turned her empathetic powers off, hating that Beast Boy of all people was feeling that way at all. "You're inside."

Black energy poured from her body, becoming sharp, unbreakable. Raven controlled the force and cut through the top of the pillar. The rocks fell down to the ground, and a green falcon immediately flew up and down to her.

She hugged him before he even changed back, feathers and talons swiftly turning into hair and hands. Raven readjusted under his new height and form and gripped him harder. Gar tucked her head in his shoulder, one hand in her lilac hair. "Thanks, Rave."

Raven shook her head and kissed him, the gnawing sensation in her gut relaxing with his body so close to her. Her hands moved towards his face, and the intimate motion soon turned hard and practical as she turned his head back and forth. "Are you hurt?"

"Nope. Though you gotta stop saving my butt like this. Seems unfair."

"It's not about fairness, Gar. I'll always save you when you need me to."

He beamed at her words, little boy smile and eyes lighting his face. Raven wanted to roll her eyes but she didn't. She didn't mean for the words to be endearing or...sweet. It was the truth. Plain and simple. She would do it for every Titan. Though he was definitely the only one she would kiss afterwards.

She coughed and stepped back, uncomfortable. "It was Terra, wasn't it?"

"Who else?" He kicked the rocks on the ground. "She's..."

"A traitor." Raven sniffed. "I don't know why we ever trusted her again. I thought she learned how to deal with the evil inside her back then, but she didn't."

Gar shook his head, "She's not a traitor. Not really."

Something snapped inside her, but Raven only swallowed, not showing the emotional reaction to Gar defending her. "Excuse me?"

"She's messed up." He pointed to his temple. "Up there, you know? She's...she's..."

"Crazy." Raven remembered when Starfire went to the 'future'. The empath was the one stuck in a room, spouting nonsense. She hated that idea, the very thought of not only losing control of her emotions, but losing control of her mind. "If that's really the case, she needs help."

"I don't know how to help her, Raven."

"You don't have to." She looked at him fiercely. This topic was touchy, but she wanted Gar to understand that he wasn't responsible for Terra's mind or her actions. "She needs professional help. But more importantly, she needs to get away from Slade."

"I can't hear the earthquakes anymore. Maybe she decided to stop helping him. I don't know if you've heard, but the Black Star..."

"I've heard," Raven interrupted before explaining to Gar all that Ravager had told the rest of the team. She watched his face turn over when she mentioned the Watchtower, but the changeling only shook his head, silent. She grabbed his hand. "We'll find her."

"I'm not sure I want to anymore."

"But we have to, Garfield. I'll come with you."

His grip on her hand tightened, almost hurting her. "Okay." He breathed out. "Any idea where she is?"

She wanted to hear about Flash first. He was her partner after all, and Gar assured her that he was safe and with the JLA teams on the ground evacuating people from the quakes.

"His endgame is faulty," Raven realized. "If Slade wants to destroy the Justice League, he should have known that massive earthquakes would cause the majority of heroes to be on Earth, not space."

Gar shrugged and scratched his head. "Yeah, maybe. Or maybe it's not about the number of deaths, you know? Sure, I bet it's every evil villain's sick , twisted, bad-boy dream to get rid of all the main guys at once, but knocking their base out? That's pretty big."

"Slade's been in hiding for so long."

"Yup." Gar's voice lowered. "And this isn't about him finishing some mission."

Raven understood what he meant now. _This is him starting a war. _ "Ravager brought us to his base. I bet Terra is trying to find Slade there."

"Well..." Gar held out his arm, expecting Raven to hook hers within it. "Shall we?"

She didn't and actually rolled her eyes before touching his shoulder and teleporting them away from the field.

* * *

><p>Ravager had her hands held out to the wall. There was a brief scan of blue light, seemingly coming from nowhere, and soon, the wall rose, coming up and up before she started running towards it. "Are you guys coming or just gonna stand there with your tails between your legs?"<p>

"Coming, sis!" Red X jogged up and passed the line of the rising wall. "Let's go, Joey. We have a score to settle."

Jericho nodded his head before following his older brother. Nightwing turned back to Starfire and Cyborg. Both former Titans were looking at him expectantly. "What?"

"You are not doing the 'Titans Go!', Dick." Starfire levitated up a bit, her green eyes tracing the Wilson children running through the dark tunnel ahead. "It does not seem right to fight the evil without it."

"Raven and B aren't here yet either." Cyborg added.

"Then we'll give them time to get here. But not long. I don't know how long the door will stay..."

The metal door fell down, not slowly, but with a loud crash. Nightwing groaned, "Great." He raised a black and blue covered hand to the door, but the thing didn't budge. "Slade must have programmed the wall to only lift from certain people's DNA. Cyborg, can you think of a way to override the system?"

"Oh, I've got a way." With his arm raised, a giant beam of blue energy cut through the room and the wall, creating a giant hole inches from Nightwing's head.

A higher, though still male, voice replied from behind, "Booyah!"

"B!" Cybrog turned, smoke still leaving the end of his arm as he hugged his friend. "Where the hell you've been?"

"Long story." Gar shook his head and gravel fell from his green hair. "Dude, you totally wrecked this wall...err, why?"

"I'm assuming that's where Slade is." Raven floated back to the ground and next to the changeling. Her hood was covering her face, and Nightwing recognized it as her preparing to fight. This was almost over. Slade and his master plan were right down that hallway.

"Starfire, do you mind flying me up?" He didn't really feel like jumping through the hole Cyborg just made.

"Yes, of course, Dick. Does this mean the Titans are commencing the 'Go'?"

He gripped her hand and nodded. Nightwing remembered first hearing about Slade back in Gotham. He was Deathstroke then, and as Batman's sidekick, their paths never really crossed much. But when he left for California that changed. So much had changed. The people behind them—his team—were constants in his life. Like Batman and Batgirl and Robin, they were his family and his friends. He wouldn't trade them for the whole Justice League if given the chance.

It was only fitting that they ended this together.

* * *

><p>AN:

Teen Titans Go! Comes out in March 2013. Like GoT. That month is going to be extremely unproductive...

But anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review!


	22. Divide and Conquer

A/N:

Hi All!

Thank you readers who are reading this story and thank you thank you reviewers! I say this every chapter, but I am grateful every chapter. Special thanks to my reviewers that posted since the last one:

No Line On the Horizon: Maybe it'll be aired at the end of the month so I have some semblance of productivity. Eh, who am I kidding. I want it ASAP. I don't think Terra even really know what she's going to do or whose side she's on. Poor girl..sort of. Thanks so much for all the compliments :D And I'm loving that you like Gar's progression. He's old now, and this story is sort of serious, so I wanted him to mature a little. Also, I definitely don't mind blocks of text!

Dancing Eyes: She does indeed. I think Slade was more of 'last straw' sort of situation in my eyes. But I'm biased to always thinking Terra is nuts.

blueyzangel: I have a tendency to be suspenseful..I think. Which is good...I think. Hope you didn't wait too long!

The Cretin: Ah! Glad you love so many aspects, especially Terra and Gar. I was worried over both of their characterizations actually since they don't really reflect the cartoon too much. I thought it was a logical progression. And it was 1 degree today. Terrible. I hate this weather. Though I hate the heat too...

Whittaker: It is most certainly. though I'm dragging this out more than I anticipated. Poor Terra. And ugh. It's embarrassing how bad I am at keeping track of comics. I should be stripped of my comic-fan status.

MelonLord28: That she is.

NicolethePenguin: My stories are definitely not that good to hold a captive audience for three months per chapter. That seems so cruel. Glad you like the weekly idea! And you may be getting an answer to your question this chapter...sort of.

ssjEasterBunny: Fanfic has an app? Huh. And thanks for the tip. I have a hard time writing her 'powers' (BB's are much more visual) so I'll try and work on making it a little bit more obvious. You were right though that Raven did read her and then exploited/manipulated that emotion on Rose. Oh yes. Those plans. How accurate they must be. Suspense is good. I think. So thanks :D Though after this chapter, I can say that there are little tricks left in my hat. And spot on with your second review concerning Flash, Raven, and BB. We'll see how it turns out though. These characters take over sometimes.

Bakachild:Thanks for your review :D Binging is great (for food and reading unfortunately). And clever thoughts about the name. I don't know if you know this, but in an AU version of the main comic universe, Starfire and Nightwing actually have a kid named Nightstar.

jinx1211: I know you're only on ch 4 when you posted, so you must have met Starfire by now!

Cecilia Hunt: Thanks!

Alchemist15: Thank you thank you. here it is!

...I should start doing PMs.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. Wah.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 20: Divide and Conquer<em>

In the darkness, Raven flew next to her friends. The hall was long, made of metal and stone, and she let herself feel their emotions again, curiosity getting the best of her.

Starfire was happy, which wouldn't have surprised Raven except for the situation they were all currently in. Rushing into battle used to make Raven happy too, but all she felt now was anxiety and fear. There was a sense of finality in this fight—a sense of dread and worry that was eating away at the empath. But Starfire was humming, beaming. She kept glancing down at Nightwing as she flew, and the happiness changed to love and concern. _I wonder if she feels it too. _ Raven's abilities didn't go deep enough to tell that specifically.

Cyborg and Nightwing were focused, not showing anything besides pure adrenaline and excitement. Nightwing especially was nothing but energy, and just reading him made Raven jittery. She was worried about Nightwing most of all. His history with Slade was violent and dark. Raven didn't want all of Dick's repairs with Starfire to get flushed down the toilet because of a rekindled obsession with Slade. Though Starfire and Nightwing verged on sickeningly sweet sometimes in her memory, she still wanted them to be happy.

She found herself stopping midflight, her hood falling over her eyes with the momentum. "Beast Boy?" Raven called forward to the green man still running, but he stopped and looked back to her.

The other Titans stopped as well, but Nightwing waved them on. "We'll wait for you guys at the end. Don't take too long."

"It won't take long." Raven fell to the ground, watching them leave through the dark hallway before turning back to Gar. She could barely see him in the tunnel. His green skin and black and purple uniform blended in too well, and she could only really see the outline of shoulders and arms and pointed ears. But as she stepped closer to him, she saw his irises expand, taking in the light. He could see her easily and it made her blush. "Hi."

"Hi?" Gar laughed. "Rave, something up? We shouldn't really be stopping here..."

She kissed him again, like before, interrupting whatever he was about to say and just doing what she intended. Raven didn't really know what she was supposed to do when it came to kissing him. Wait for him to stop talking? Knowing Beast Boy that could have taken awhile, and he was right. They shouldn't really be stopping. But the pain in her stomach and mind made her want to do this again. She wanted to feel him- his hands on her back, his lips on hers, warm and soft and kneading every emotion she could ever produce from her body. Kissing him made her feel important and...loved. Raven felt her mouth curve up to a smile even as she continued to kiss him, and Gar's hands lowered to her back where he could push her body closer to his.

Raven broke before she needed air and leaned on him. Gar pushed the hood completely off of her head. "I'm no mind-reader, Rave, but you..."

She stepped away from him. "Do you remember when you and Cyborg went into my mirror?"

He nodded. "I couldn't forget that as much as I tried."

"Thank you, Beast Boy ...For helping me with Rage."

His green eyes narrowed. "No problemo. Come on, Raven. That isn't..."

"And do you remember with Malchior and Adonis?: She swallowed. Her voice sounded steady, despite how she was feeling. "Of course you do. Thank you for that. I don't think I ever said it properly, even then."

"You _hugged_ me, Raven. That was more than words could ever do coming from you. My teenage heart was gonna explode."

She blushed at that, not bothering to hide the warmth of her cheeks from Gar. "And I wanted to thank you for never giving up on me. You always tried to make me laugh. Even when I was so..." Her smile grew slightly when Gar ran his gloved hands over her cheek, through her hair, and then leaned in to kiss her. It was harder than before—the same undercurrent of panic in his taste.

"Don't thank me for that." Gar grabbed her hand. "Though an _apology_ on the other hand..."

"Beast Boy."

"What?" He backed away a bit. "Just sayin' sometimes, Rave, you were a little bitc..."

"Let's quit while we're ahead." Raven dropped his hands and walked passed him. A part of her felt like hitting him for that comment, but her mind faltered at the thought. This wasn't the time to be mad at him. Not at all. "Do you feel it?"

The changeling walked next to her. "Yes. That's why you were saying all those nice things. This feels like the time you sort of almost..."

"Blew up?"

"Yeah...actually that's exactly what I was going to say." Gar pulled on the edges of his silver gloves, making them tighter on his hands. "Maybe we should, uh, kiss a little more. Could be the last time..."

"Don't joke about that."

"Wasn't! Well, maybe half-joking. But I guess since we're being honest with each other, I...I uh..."

"Garfield?" She turned to look at him, which was easier now that her eyes were starting to adjust. He was rubbing his arms, purple boots kicking the ground as his eyes stared in every direction but her. "What is it? Is it about Terra?"

He cringed at that and looked at her, green eyes becoming sharp against the blackness. "This has absolutely nothing to do with Terra."

"Then what is it?" Raven asked again, confused. "Tell me."

"I don't really expect an answer, Raven. You know, you could just uh...not say anything. That'd be cool. Or you could tell me the truth if it's not..."

"Beast Boy, just spit it out."

His hands folded together. "It's, uh, not something you just...just give me a minute, okay?"

"We don't really have a minute, Gar. The others are waiting."

"But..."

"Go."

"But I can't just..."

"Beast Boy, you need to..."

"I love you."

Raven's mouth fell open. She felt it drop, but that was about the only thing she could feel. Her legs were numb, her hands and arms feeling limp. She started to levitate, the feeling of nothing too weird, but her focus stuttered and she fell back down on the ground, right on her butt. "Ow."

Gar offered her a hand up. "Probably not the best thing to drop on an empath before a big fight, huh?"

"No." She was surprised she could still talk. "It wasn't."

"Maybe we can just try to forget I said that, and you can think about it later? Yeah? Sounds good? Great! See ya soon!" Gar kissed her on the cheek, turned around, and just started sprinting down the tunnel and away from her.

Raven could only exhale, not daring to even begin to process those three words. That was too hard for her to think of right now, and the last thing she needed was her head and powers to be in a complete mess. Which is all that would happen.

_I did not see that coming._Raven replaced the hood over her head. Her face felt incredibly warm, and she felt a little light-headed. "I'm a terrible empath."

* * *

><p>He wouldn't lie to himself and say it didn't hurt a bit that she didn't say it back. In the ideal world of Gar's imagination, Raven would have run up to him, hugged him, kissed him, and then said how much she loved him back, how much she's always loved him. <em>Then I'd be even more worried.<em>

It was true what he said. He didn't expect an answer from her. Not now. Eventually yes, he'd like to know. But he was allowing her a pass from confronting that emotion until all of this was done with.

_Don't regret saying it though. _ He was still running up, and he saw the outlines of his friends' bodies a little further down the tunnel. Gar's instinct was driving him nuts. He'd regret not saying it if something happened right now—whether it be the world ending or one of them... _Nope, nope. Not gonna happen. _

"Yo guys!" Gar stopped and waved at the Titans standing in front of another metal wall. He felt wind behind him, and Raven landed by his side. He self-consciously wiped his mouth, "Cy, you're actually waiting to blow something up?"

"Just for a sec'." The sonic cannon soon appeared from Cyborg's arm and the wall was also obliterated. The metal melted into a hole. Orange and blue goo expanded and dried over the side, and Nightwing pointed his arm forward.

Gar morphed into an ocelot. They were nocturnal, and his already slightly enhanced eyes were magnified, as if a giant spotlight had just been turned on overhead. The room was circular, with a metal floor and steps leading up to a raised platform. The whole thing up there—to Gar—looked like a giant test tube. A wide, glass cylinder connected the metal floor to the ceiling, and sitting in the center, as if on a throne, was the Black Star.

_Wasn't it a raisin before?  
><em>

It used to look wrinkly and pathetic, repulsive in a way. And though Gar agreed that one of those things were still true, the alien life-form was no longer raisin-like. It went from folded over, small and prune-y, to a large circle of purple and black, orange light outlining where the folds once were. It pulsed in and out, like a heart, and Gar thought of a puffer fish.

None of the Titans moved or said anything. The Black Star was staring all of them in the face. Gar knew they could all see it too despite the darkness; the glowing veins of the thing illuminated the room with every throb. _Where's Slade?_

He changed again to a bloodhound even though he had no scent to search for. Gar sniffed the air anyway, habit taking over, but the smell of blood and leftover meat made him gag and switch back into his natural form. "Ugh." His stomach turned over. He never really liked this smell and was less used to it than most because of his vegetarianism. "That's disgusting."

"What is it, Beast Boy?" Nightwing turned to him. The room was suddenly much darker for Gar now, but he was able to make out his friend. Dick Grayson's focus soon left him and went back to the room, not waiting for an answer while Slade was still invisible.

_He can't smell that? _ It was vile. That was the word he was looking for. Even know, back in his normal body, he couldn't get that stench out of his head. It was worse than when Cyborg decided to barbeque every known red meat on the planet. Worse than stankball or his room back when he was fifteen. Gar watched Starfire approach the Black Star slowly, her glowing green eyes angry and somehow curious at the thing behind the glass.

"So this is the creature that has destroyed my people."

_Oh._ The smell was familiar to Gar, and looking at Starfire made him realize why. It smelled like death—literally dead, rotting, bodies. But the smell must have been too innate and locked inside the Black Star for anyone else to notice.

"Where's everyone else?" Raven took down her hood, probably in order to see better.

Gar assumed she meant Ravager, Red X, and Jericho. They were supposed to be ahead of them, weren't they? But there was no Wilson in sight. The changeling couldn't say he minded. Besides Jericho, Gar felt no loyalty to them, and the throbbing thing in front of him took all of his limited attention."The Black Star is here. Let's just take the thing before there can be any more damage."

"Except one thing, Beast Boy." Raven looked too thoughtful.

"What?"

"What do we do with it?"

Well, he hadn't thought of that. The mission was to get it away from Slade and originally bring it to the Watchtower, but that suddenly seemed dangerous considering that was the very thing the Black Star was supposed to destroy. Gar looked at Nightwing, but he didn't lend any sort of answer. _Great. What now?  
><em>

"I can answer that."

All five Titans looked up, but the voice was disembodied. There was no doubt though, not in any of their heads, that the voice didn't belong to Slade. He was there, hidden in the shadows or watching them, Gar didn't know.

There was a sucking noise, and the Black Star was soon lifted through the clear tube and up, where the ceiling opened into a small hole. The Black Star was rising away, out of the room, and all the Titans could do was stare and wonder what had just occurred.

"Damn it." Nightwing vocalized what all of them were thinking. It was there. It was right there, and then it just floated away?

Beast Boy tensed, the thin hair on his neck starting to stand with the realization that this was a setup.

"Raven?" Whatever thoughts he had before of a disconnect or a sort of tension between him and the empath vanished. "The animal in me doesn't like this."

"No part of me likes this, Garfield." Her purple eyes weren't looking at him. She kept looking upward, for Slade's voice that sounded before but was now silent.

Nighwing was unsettled. "Slade! Come down here and fight!"

"Of course, Robin. Just give me one second."

_Huh?_

Gar's confusion was answered as panels of the seemingly solid circular room rose, revealing an army of Slade bots marching towards them.

"They won't attack you, Robin." The voice above was taunting. "But I can't say the same for your friends. Come and get me."

The four other Titans turned to their leader who was shaking his head. "I won't abandon my friends."

"Nightwing, please do." Starfire flew up, starbolts already in her hands. "The Slade bots can be easily defeated, but Slade may not be the patient if you stay and fight."

"But Starfire..."

"Dude, we got this. We've taken down hundreds of these guys." Gar's muscles were quaking at the memory, but he didn't let that show. "If Slade wants a showdown, give him one. Kick his ass for me."

Cyborg's sonic cannon reformed on his arm. "And me."

"Don't play into his hand." Raven warned, placing her hood back over her face. "This is a trick, Nightwing. But you can outsmart him. Be careful."

Nightwing hesitated, but ran through the bots. The machines only walked passed him, ambivalent or blind to the black and blue hero sprinting through one of the openings in the wall. Gar wondered if Nightwing would get lost, but then again, this was _Nightwing_. He practically had a Slade radar. The changeling didn't have any more time to think though. A group of Slade bots were targeting him, and Gar cracked his knuckles. _T-Rex or Rhino?_

He went for the rhino. It was a bit smaller than a dinosaur, which made the transformation quicker. Gar managed to ram four bots with his new horn. Wires and metals flew around him, scarring a bit of his now larger body. The changeling shrugged it off and turned back to another corner of bots coming towards him, but then he felt a punch to his side, hitting his green, leathery rhino-skin.

"Ouch."

That wasn't right. He couldn't usually talk in his animal forms, and when Gar looked at his hands, he saw silver gloves. "What the hell?" He picked a dinosaur this time—anklyosaurus—and started to hit the robots with his tail, smashing them completely. He felt another bump on his armored side. _Okay, that was a fluke. Just keep—_

"GAR! What are you doing?"

"Huh?" He looked at Raven, and then realized he had spoken again and that he was just currently moving his hips, not doing anything mildly effective. "Crap."

This wasn't like before. He could change normally, easily. Gar went from a squirrel to a dog to wildebeest in a matter of seconds. This wasn't his mind or body being uncooperative. _It's the bots. _ His green eyes glanced around to the other Titans, and Gar rolled to the side before turning to an eagle and flying up—avoiding the Slade bots altogether. The funny thing was though that the bots didn't attack the other nearby Titans at all. They stared at Gar with emotionless, unseeing eyes, waiting for him to get tired and land somewhere. _Can't land anywhere. _ He flapped his wings and looked at the other Titans who were having no better luck. A cluster of bots were attacking Cyborg, seeming impervious to his sonic cannon or even his straight forward punches and hits. Starfire's and Raven's groups of bots seemed to be indifferent to either heroines' green or black blasts. One of them reflected a starbolt towards Gar, and the changeling dropped from the sky only to be surrounded again.

He morphed back into his human form. "This seems a little unfair." He dodged several punches and kicks before getting crushed by a metal knuckle to the nose. The dripping blood was instantaneous. The metallic taste and bitter sensation filled his mouth as Gar realized he had bitten his lip with a fang.

Another kick went to his stomach, and the air in his body completely left him. Gar fell to his knees but soon stood up. He managed to knock down another Slade bot with a nicely aimed kick before transforming again.

It was beginning to get tiring to be constantly pushed out of his current form and back to his natural body. At first, he didn't notice, but by the fifth and sixth time, Gar was panting. It was like being pushed around internally. His organs strained from the resistant pressure. His muscles twitched when he went from big to small or small to big again and again. He scanned the room one more time and saw Cyborg struggling to hold back a mob of robots. His metal was scratched up and black in places, and his human side did not look any better. Starfire and Raven were flying, but they were both starting to look exhausted. _This is getting us nowhere._

Gar had half the mind to just run for it and follow Nightwing. The Slade bots were just a distraction anyway. A particularly ruthless bot was gunning towards Gar, and he just started to try and move away when a black sphere domed around him, protecting him completely from the attack. "Raven."

She appeared next to him, her own group of bots following, but she kept the wall of black energy up and pushing back the pursuing machines. "I called for backup."

Gar turned around to cover her back and switched back to a rhino. Raven's group of bots didn't push him back into human form, and soon Gar left a lot of them in a pile of nuts and bolts. He morphed back into a human right before knocking a bot nearly grabbing Raven's hood.

"Thanks." Raven didn't turn completely, but Gar heard the relief in her voice. "I'm not so good with the physical."

Gar shot her a smile. "Oh no worries, Rave. I'll just have to teach you later." She didn't comment on that, not so much as said a word towards Gar's terrible innuendo. That worried him. _I scared her, didn't...whoa, no time to think of that. _ "Star and Cy, switch groups!"

The Tamaranean seemed to hear him first. Her eyes shone green and starbolts flew from her hands towards the Slade bots Cyborg was currently targeting. The damage was clear. Smoke rose from the melted metal, and Cyborg shot a sonic cannon towards the robots attacking Starfire. "Good call, B! Man, when did you develop the strategic mind?

He wanted to reply with a, "um, never", but was distracted by the red tornado suddenly (and conveniently) pushing all the remaining bots up into the air and then into one messy heap on the floor. The Flash slowed down, kicking a stray robot head with his boot. "Miss me?"

"Took you long enough. I thought you said you were already coming here before I called." Raven smashed some twitching bots with black energy. "The others aren't back in the Watchtower, are they?"

"Actually they took a base a little closer to home for now." The Flash paused, waiting for anyone to give an answer. "No guesses, really? It's your guys' tower. They're camping out there trying to figure out what they'll do if Slade's successful. You know, like where it'll fall, damage control—that stuff. Plus they have that whole massive evacuation thing to manage."

Cyborg seemed annoyed. "They got past my security?"

"Somehow Batman was able to figure it out." Flash held back a laugh. "Wonder how."

Gar stiffened. "The earthquakes are still going on?" He couldn't feel them. Even though he was pretty sure they were underground, he'd expect to feel _something._ Or did being under the quake make it worst? Gar didn't know.

Flash shook his head. "Nope. That stopped, thank God. I'm on loan now to help you guys, but to be honest, I would have come without the permission. I was an honorary Titan before a leaguer."

"That is most kind of you, the Flash. I am most grateful that you were able to come and destroy the annoyance that has kept us from joining Nightwing." Starfire gave Flash a hug, which almost seemed to break the speedster's back.

"It was nothing." He brushed himself off when he was released. "What was up with that though? You guys were struggling a little too hard."

"They were programmed or something. I don't know how you do it or even if it's possible, but Slade managed to build some machines that were designed to fight _us_. They were immune to our powers." Gar didn't like that thought even though he knew it was right. "Creepy. It's almost like he knew we were going to come here."

Raven seemed distant. "He knew we were going to fight them."

"Yeah. Doesn't it seem like that?" Gar scratched the back of his neck.

Starfire tapped her foot, confused. "This does not seem right for before Slade was trying to convince Nightwing and I not to do the fighting for it may disturb the Black Star. Surely this fight would ..."

"Terra isn't controlling the quakes anymore. Maybe he needed a backup plan?" Gar suggested.

"Or he's panicking and messing himself up, like the majority of villains do. Raven, you called me here to help you guys take down Slade." Flash sighed. "So aren't we going to take him down?"

"Wait up, guys. Look." Cyborg pointed to one of the openings that the Slade bots had amassed from. Inside, there was a small glint of metal on the ground, and Cyborg ran to hold it up, revealing one of Ravager's swords. "Jericho and the others must have gotten captured and taken down...wait."

He continued a short bit further down the hallway, the other Titans following closely. Ravager's sword seemed scratched up, as if it hit metal, and Gar guessed that they weren't the first group to run into some bots. Gar thought he saw something further down, and he transformed into an ocelot quickly, his eyes watching a familiar orange light pulsing in the dark passage.

Gar transformed back. "Guys? I think it's down there."

"What is down there, Beast Boy?" Starfire flew beside him and then gasped. _She must see it too._

Gar and Starfire started running, causing the other Titans to follow them. The dark passage led to a smaller, though still circular room. The orange lights were the only illumination throughout the space, but Gar still felt his green eyes widen.

There was too much to take in. There, on the ground, unconscious and tied-down, were the three Wilsons. There was a figure standing above them on a raised ledge. She jumped down at the sight of the Titans."Beast Boy?" Terra walked around the Wilsons. "Starfire...everyone." She rubbed her arm, looking at Flash with confusion before turning back to Beast Boy. "How did you get here? How did you find this place?"

He didn't hear her, not really. The words weren't processing at all, and Gar could only notice Raven fly next to him and grab his wrist. Her eyes weren't on Terra at all, and neither were Gar's. They were on the tubes behind Terra—four tubes—all containing what looked like smaller versions of the Black Star.

* * *

><p>AN:

Explanatory chapter to follow. Thanks all for reading! Reviews make me a happy happy child.


	23. Plan B

A/N:

Fun story about how I typed this all, hit the back button by mistake, and then deleted it. So fun. Well, at least it was just the little note stuff.

Sorry for the wait! Life is busy. School and sports own my life. Wah.

blueyzangel: 5 Black Stars are definitely worse than 1 Black Star

Whitakker: Well, mind-jacking is never quite out of the question...is it? Maybe? I'm bad at this. I don't think Terra knows what's driving her anymore. Confused, confused girl. Almost there! The last lap is the hardest.

MelonLord28:And they're free too!

Dancing Eyes: Wouldn't be a party without all the Black Stars!

Katwizzle: Slade's a tricky devil

The Cretin: happy to hear that you like all the description and that this story is still entertaining you! Detail is tedious though it does add a lot to the story, hopefully.

Cecilia Haunt: Beast Boy and Cyborg would agree with you on that.

NicolethePenguin: Well...this is sort of? soon. I try. And I think I may have misled you a bit with the Black Stars. Terra wasn't using them to hurt the Wilsons, just sort of keeping watch of them. The Sladebots were responsible for that one, and what the Black Stars are for...well, that's next. And aw, thanks! The last part made me smile lots.

Headphones: replying from your review in chapter 14! I have to say, I'm a sucker for love triangles. And both Wally and Garfield are too cool.

Alchemist15: Aw shucks. Thanks! I'm glad you like the writing. It is tough.

Miss Topaz: Yup! I'm back! And better(?) than ever! ha. Oh Terra, Terra. I don't hate her...for some reason I don't understand, but she is, to say the least, complicated. Thanks!

2-shadows: Here's more! Phew. At least there are not 192 Black Stars

No Line on the Horizon: I thought the sladebots were a good idea. I'm just a better villain than Slade, ha. And you're sort of spot on with the Terra thing. She's confused, everyone's confused about her, and I guess that causes confusion (ha). And so sorry for the delay! I'd be happy to read your story. Just let me know what you'd like me to read!

ssjEasterBunny: Haha, Beast Boy is silly even when he's serious sometime. Ah pacing. My arch-nemesis. Yay! I'm glad I lived up that promise a long time ago. Phew, otherwise i'd feel silly

Deathrow609: Aw that's sweet! Thanks! I will continue to update when I am free, for sure.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 21: Plan B<em>

Dick Grayson stopped at the dead end ahead, the tunnel pouring out into a large expanse of room. The ceilings were high. The dim lights above swung from wind, though Nightwing could not see the source. It seemed to howl through the room, and he felt his spine tinge as he walked forward, pushing his black mask flush on his nose.

"Slade!" He had no time to play around. Nightwing stopped walking as he remembered Raven's warning. He knew it too. This was a trap.

This was the old Robin—blinded by his hatred for this man and running in, ready to stop him no matter what the consequences could be. But that wasn't who Dick was anymore. He hesitated from shouting the man's name again and scanned the dark shadows. There was a walkway above made of mesh metal. It'd be unstable, and Nightwing couldn't bring the fight up there. _Secondary. Getting Slade is secondary. _The Black Star was out there—somewhere—and Nightwing needed Slade to divulge that information.

But he waited. He wanted to run around screaming for the man, but Nightwing forced himself to stay put and just watch his surroundings. Batman was a great super hero and it wasn't because of any powers.

A shadow flickered above through the swinging lights, and Nightwing removed a birdarang from his side, hitting the moving figure above. There was a sharp intake of breath, but Slade didn't scream out. Blood trickled down from the raised walkway and splattered on the floor feet away from Nightwing. Dick cringed at the distance and then rolled forward towards the blood, dodging the flash grenade thrown down by Slade.

"Not even a hello before we get started?" Slade's voice was strained. "Didn't the Bat teach you any manners?"

Nightwing didn't reply or give in to any taunts. He took another birdarang in his hands and whipped it up again. He saw Slade's shadow roll and dodge the spiraling blade. _Damn it._

"Come up here and fight, Robin."

He said nothing. He kept his fists clenched, ready, and watched Slade's shadow from above. The villain just walked back and forth. Slade knew he was seen. His one eye looked down at Nightwing from above, one hand lazily placed on his upper thigh where he was cut. It didn't seem to be affecting him much.

"Are you too afraid?" The question from Slade seemed almost genuine. Almost. "I know about that...incident."

Nightwing flinched. He was baiting him, and Nightwing took it. "What incident?"

"It was a long time ago though, wasn't it? You shouldn't be afraid of heights anymore. And surely Mr. Wayne makes up for your parents deaths."

_Who told him? _"What?!" His voice was angry. Nightwing looked up again, but somehow had lost where Slade was going. He looked to the ground and saw where more drops of blood had fallen and redirected his eyes. Slade was simply standing, arms crossed.

"Richard, you'd have to have known I would do proper research on a potential apprentice."

"Slade, shut up. Tell me where the Black Star is."

"_The Flying Graysons_. Batman was right about scouting you. So easily susceptible too. An orphan. No family. No attachments. I should have gotten to you earlier."

Nightwing's teeth gritted. "Come down here and fight."

"Very well." He jumped down, rolling, the bloodied thigh seeming to have no apparent effect on his physical capacity.

Slade threw the first punch, but Nightwing blocked it with his forearm before sending a high section kick to Slade's mask face. The impact hurt, more than Nightwing showed on his face, but the contact of hitting Slade's metal mask made his calf vibrate. Slade stuttered. He touched a gloved hand to his encased chin and then continued. Kick after kick flew through the air. Most were dodged and others hit with strong violence and force. Nightwing bent over as he felt the pressure to his chest. His breath caught in his throat, but he shook it off. He had dealt with much worse. This was nothing.

When Slade drew out his bo staff, Nigthwing switched his strategy. He changed the distance, coming in to un-lever the long reach of the staff. Slade used the metal stick to stop Nightwing's double-kick, but Nightwing pressed against it, launched himself backwards on his hands, and catapulted himself back into Slade's gut. Nightwing kicked the relinquished staff from Slade's hands and pushed the villain's shoulders against the floor, digging the blades and contours of his back into the rough surface. With his free hand, Nightwing grabbed the edge of Slade's mask and tossed it to the ground.

Slade's face remained impassive, even unmasked. His hair was a curly white. One of his eyes was missing, and a solid black eye patch spanned across his face. He looked at Nightwing-bruises blotting his face-with indignation. Nightwing hesitated at seeing his age. This man who he had been fighting for so long, who physically matched him, was much older than he expected. But then again, what did Nightwing expect?

"It's over." Nightwing's blue eyes glanced to the shedded black and orange mask. Seeing his face changed no feeling in him for this man. "Slade, tell me where the Black Star is."

"No back story first?" He licked the crackling skin on his lips. There were spots of blood. "Not curious what I have up my sleeve?"

"I gave up trying to figure you out, Slade. I'm done talking with you. The League can deal with that."

The dark circles under Slade's eyes seemed to deepen. "Oh, Robin. You think you'll have the Justice League to return to."

"I know you're planning on targeting the Watchtower. It's over, Slade. Give up."

"No, Robin." He didn't try to push up from under the younger man's firm hold. Slade shook his head, seeming to laugh. "I'm not even close to being done with you." There was a sudden grip on Nightwing's right arm, and the former Boy Wonder cringed as he felt Slade roll and pull his arm along with him, tugging at the muscle and bone. Nightwing screamed as the arm continued to rip from its socket—a tearing, grisly noise of tendon and flesh.

With a pop, the limb fell, connected, but loose at Nightwing's side. The pain was harsh, tear-shedding. But Dick stood anyway, holding his broken arm as he started to engage Slade again. The villain shook his head and kicked Nightwing in the pit of his knees. Nightwing crumbled to the ground and landed on his broken arm. He held back the scream and rolled onto his back.

"Just stop trying. I gave up on you. You do the same. The Watchtower is dead now. I do hope none of your friends were on board. Oh wait, yes I do." Slade picked up his mask from the floor. "And even if they aren't, Robin...well, there's always Plan B."

The pain was overwhelming. Nightwing tried to flex his arm, tried to do anything with it, but all he could do was wave it limply from his shoulder. His eyes were threatening to close, and he wasn't sure whether he blacked out or if Slade turned off the lights when the whole room went dark.

* * *

><p>"Holy mother fu-"<p>

"Terra!" Gar called over Wally. "You can't be...you can't be here."

"You're the one that isn't supposed to be here, Beast Boy. None of you should be." Terra pointed to the door, seemingly unaware of the still breathing bodies at her feet. "You all should leave."

Raven lowered her purple eyes on the girl, stared at her for a second, and then walked past her—completely ignoring her presence. "We need a way to break through this glass without disturbing them. How did they even multiply?"

"Are you _not_ listening to me?" Terra's voice got firmer.

Cyborg glanced at her direction and then went to Raven's side. "I...I should have known. Star Labs was researching the Black Star as a regenerative source for organs and body parts. It's able to reproduce any type of tissue at a remarkable speed. I guess that includes reproducing itself."

"There's four of them, and only one Tower. That means..." Wally shook his head.

"Terra." Raven turned back to face the blonde girl. As much as she wanted to ignore her and just get on with business, she could be potentially helpful. "How do we open the tubes?"

Her blue eyes dulled. "I can't tell you that, Raven. You guys aren't..."

"I know!" She lost her temper a bit, mad at herself for thinking Terra would help. Raven inhaled before looking at the girl again. "We aren't supposed to be here. So what? We're here. Now tell us how to open the tubes before I force them open."

"Raven, let me..." Gar touched her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. She didn't want to play Terra's game of mixed-up emotion. Raven could smell the crazy, taste it with each changing feeling pervading from Terra's subconscious. It was neither something she wanted to nor could deal with. And she wasn't about to let Gar deal with it either.

"No, Beast Boy. We need to get these things out of here, not talk with her."

"But maybe if we just..."

She knew Beast Boy was grasping at straws, that some semblance of him wanted Terra to be normal because, in a selfish way, that would make him feel less guilty. But she couldn't _wait_ for that to happen. Not when four ticking time bombs were in front of her. "Garfield." She wanted to listen to him, but she couldn't. Raven simply did her best to try and pretend that Terra wasn't in the same room as her. "She's not going to help us. I don't think she'll even tell us Slade's plans with these things, let alone help us get rid of them."

"Titans' Tower, the Earth JLA headquarters, Titans East, and some mansion in Gotham." Terra walked up to Raven. "For now. Slade has other ones here in test tubes still growing. He hasn't identified all the spots he wants to hit yet."

Raven's mind was stuck on the first one. _...Our home? _ He had tried to bury it before. Terra herself had helped him invade it, but the thought of it being completely obliterated now, now after she hadn't lived there for such a long time. Now when she had finally realized that she wanted to go back to that place so, so badly... "Our Tower? He wants to attack our Tower?"

"The JLA is there." Wally pointed out. "Raven, I'm going back there and warning them. I'll call them on the communicator and give them a bit of a head start, but I got to..."

"Go, Flash. Take Jericho with you." She wanted the former Titan out of here, and soon, Wally was gone with Jericho in hand. Terra didn't move to stop him at all, and Raven raised an eyebrow in confusion. Her purple eyes went back to the tubes. "They're so small."

"Enough damage to destroy the target and the surrounding area. I'm supposed to build a wall to protect this base when Slade decides to launch it," Terra said, emotionless.

"Does he not need the energy first in order for the Black Stars to be effective?" Starfire was still a distance away from the tubes. The Tamaranean seemed almost fearful of being close to the miniature Black Stars.

"He does." Terra touched one of the tubes. "But your fight with the Sladebots should have given them enough energy. They shouldn't need much now. See the buttons there? On the side?" She pointed to the the metal platform the tubes were raised on. "That's where the coordinates are plugged in."

_Our fight helped this?  
><em>

Terra continued, "Slade knew you guys would come. I...I tried to stop you. Didn't I, Beast Boy? I tried to stop you guys from coming."

"How do we open the containers, Terra?" Raven bit back rage. An idea was forming in her head—a bad idea—but maybe it was worth a shot. She was worried about the energy content. Would it be too much for the small alien forms to handle? Would it cause them to blow up prematurely and kill her? She was weighing the options, Wisdom and Bravery starting to fight somewhere in Nevermore. The things did not look stable at all. She bit her lip.

"I can't."

Raven sighed and made a fist. She couldn't push Terra like she normally would have, but a part of her still wanted to force her to say it. Maybe if she could just manipulate some fear, it would...

"I'm done with this, Terra." Gar broke through the line up of Titans and grabbed the blonde girl's wrist. "Your wishy-washy, flip-floppingness is tiring. You're _exhausting_. And I don't have the time or the energy to feel guilty and sad over you right now." His green eyes blinked. "Or ever. So please. Help us, get out of the way, or fight us. I don't have time for anything in between."

The blonde opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but it soon closed again. Terra ran her fingers through her hair and grabbed at it, pulling. Starfire started to move up to her before the yellow device on her belt began to ring. "It is Dick. He's hurt." The Tamaranean didn't even turn to the others before flying down the hall, in the other direction.

It was after Starfire left that the cavern started to rumble. Terra was still grabbing at her head, ripping at clumps of her blonde hair. Gar looked to Raven, "Get Red X and Ravager out of here."

"No, Cyborg can." Raven shook her head. "I'm staying here."

Gar's fangs showed for a brief second, but the changeling nodded. "Dude, go. We got this. Get them out."

Cyborg glanced at them both before throwing Ravager over his shoulder and picking up Red X. He sprinted out of the tunnel, and Raven half-wondered if she made the right choice.

* * *

><p>She saw him on the ground, body bloody, bruised, and broken. His arm was at an angle that she knew was not right at all, and Starfire's feet collapsed to the ground with the sudden unhappy feeling in her chest. "Dick!" She ran to him and kneeled. His face was purple and swollen, and Starfire went to wipe the sweat from his eyes.<p>

Dick shook his head, and with his left hand tore the black mask off. "Kory...he got away."

"I do not care about Slade right now." Starfire cradled his head in her lap. "I do not even care about the Black Stars."

"Stars? Why are you...why is it plural?"

"It is no concern of yours while you are in this state." Starfire took his left arm and helped Nightwing stand. Her green eyes traced over his body. His uniform wasn't ripped, but his face was bruised and his right arm was clearly broken. She knew he had bruises underneath his uniform, and from the way Dick was breathing, he may have had a broken rib as well. "Are you well enough to stand?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. We have to go after..."

"This is the intense, crazy Robin that I thought you were trying to do the avoiding of. Let me go after Slade."

"You?" Nightwing bit back at the way his voice sounded, but Starfire knew he didn't mean it any condescending way, but just to be sure, Starfire clarified.

"I know Slade is a powerful villain that you have spent the majority of your Titans career doing the searching and fighting, but I am Tamaranean royalty. I know the tricks he uses and the skills that he employs. I am not asking for the permission, Nightwing."

She waited for him to object to that, but Dick Grayson said nothing. He looked at his arm and then frowned. "Fine. But let me help."

"Only if you believe that you can help while your arm is in that...shape." She was skeptical, but she knew what catching Slade would mean for Nightwing. "What is your plan?"

"Just leave once you get him, okay Kory?"

"Yes, of course."

Nightwing didn't know how long he had been knocked out for or where Slade ran to, but he could see the drops of blood on the floor. From the way they shone in the dim light, Starfire knew they were still wet. He hadn't been gone for long. "This way."

The drops of blood led to another wall, and Nightwing seemed to want to turn around before Starfire raised a fist and punched the wall straight through. "Cyborg is not the only one who can do the breaking down of the walls." She cracked her knuckles and then wrapped an arm around Nightwing to support him down the continuing hallway.

After they walked for about two minutes down, Nightwing took his weight off Starfire and walked further down alone. "Slade!" He called once he was away from Starfire. "This isn't over!"

There was nothing but his echoing voice down the hallway, but the blood was still marking the ground. Slade was here.

Starfire hesitated before flying up and behind a hanging light. She watched as Nightwing looked back to her and gave her a thumbs-up. Good. She was hidden.

Nightwing continued his walk down, unrelenting with his shouts, and every so often, wincing as his right arm swung a bit too harshly. He was hurt, yet he continued on and on. Starfire watched patiently, biting her lip.

Her green eyes widened as an explosive fell right by Nightwing—a flash grenade, nothing damaging-but she knew Nightwing was blinded. She shifted against her hiding place behind the light. The flash grenade hadn't affected her—not in the same way it did Nightwing. Her eyes readjusted quicker, and through her strained vision, she could see a man emerge and punch Nightwing in the stomach. Nightwing groaned and fell back, on purpose or not, Starfire didn't know.

Slade was there, baiting, talking, saying something about how he'd fallen like his parents had, how everyone he ever loved had abandoned him or died. How his only real connection was to a Bat, and even then he was just a tool for a mission no one really understood.

She had to restrain herself when he started talking about the Titans and kicking him in the side. To Slade, they were a useless bunch of teenagers, too high off hormones and the adrenaline of being 'heroes' to be anything but a nuisance to him. And like a fly or a rat, he was happy to finally be rid of them.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Slade was rolling Nightwing over, touching the hero's cheeks between his fingers. "I have a few suggestions. Say you're a helpless lost boy that should have never slighted me. Say you're a worthless excuse as a leader and hero, and I will end you quickly."

"I will." Nightwing slurred, spitting blood and saliva. Starfire was holding back the starbolts from her hands. "Just tell me how to disable the Black Star."

Slade laughed. "A detective to the end. I see. You just want to figure out the case." His eye behind the metal stared at Nightwing's, waiting for a flinch or intimation to prove otherwise. He didn't see it, and Slade smirked behind his mask. "You do not deserve that satisfaction."

Slade raised a fist over Nightwing's head, a powerful hook, but it never came. Nightwing rolled to the right, over his broken arm and avoided Slade's harsh blow. Starfire—seeing their plan crumbling apart—flew from her hiding spot and, before Slade could see, hit the villain in the back of the neck. Slade cringed and fell to the ground, out cold.

"He has a high resistance to physical attacks, abnormal." Nightwing fumbled through something on his belt. He took it out to reveal a small bottle. "This will keep him unconscious for hours. Starfire, take him away."

She stared at Nightwing then to Slade. There was one detail they failed to fully discuss. "Where?"

"Where? The Watch..." Nightwing hesitated. "Blackgate. It's a prison in Gotham. I'll call Oracle and she'll find you and help."

Starfire didn't move. She saw how strained Nightwing looked, the blood from his lips and his broken ribs making his breathing seem haggard and vile. But she nodded her head, went up to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He winced from the pain, and Starfire moved back. "Call Raven to heal you, please. I will be back as soon as I can."

Nightwing poured the liquid from the bottle down Slade's throat. "Go."

* * *

><p>Raven blocked out whatever Terra and Gar were talking about. It wasn't too hard. She was used to blocking things out, and the other things grating at her thoughts didn't mind having all of the attention. The rumblings continued, and instead of trying to placate the girl, Gar was getting her more and more furious.<p>

She watched to see if the glass tubes were cracking, but they weren't. The Black Stars continued to glow and throb. She was running out of time and options. Something buzzed in her ear, and her hand went to her belt before she realized that it wasn't her Titans communicator. "Not a good time."

"Raven, it's Wally. I'm back at the Tower, but..."

"Wally, I can't right now." She had lost track of Starfire, Dick was probably seriously hurt somewhere, and Gar had become eerily silent. "This isn't..."

"The Black Star left the base. We didn't stop it."

She knew that. She knew it was gone and maybe... Raven shook her head and walked away from Gar and Terra. "The WatchTower?"

"It's falling, Raven. The Black Star collided with it and then just...went off." Wally exhaled. "No other external damage to other satellites, but the League's expecting a lot of chaos when the pieces start to...make impact."

"Tell me someone is trying to stop it."

"Supes out in space now with Jon. But that's only two guys. Others are holding back and trying to catch it as it hits the earth's atmosphere but... Raven, we could use some help. That's only if those other things haven't been causing problems."

"They have." She hung up on the Flash and looked at Gar and Terra. Gar went up to her, and she must have seemed off, for even Terra stopped whatever quakes she was producing. The blonde seemed actually concerned, and Raven didn't know if she should let her emotions loose and punish this girl who let this happen. _No, don't._

She turned to Gar instead, and let her hands shake before saying, "The Watchtower is..."

Her voice cut off as the ground shook from no tremor produced by Terra. Bits of the ceiling rained down on them, and she wondered how close it fell, how many people and homes it destroyed as remnants of the satellite crashed and burned its way to Earth. They were supposed to be protectors, and now their base had killed many innocent people. Just in a matter of seconds. Raven swallowed. "I have to take care of this."

"It wasn't supposed to happen this way." Terra shook her heads before sitting on the ground."I...I just wanted to help."

_Help who? _She didn't know what had happened to Terra to think that this was supposed to help anyone but Slade. Raven watched the girl crumbling on the floor. "Terra, what's the radius of the blasts from the smaller Black Stars?"

The blond was crying, and Raven hesitated before opening the girl's emotions and taking away the sadness and guilt. _Please, think, Terra. Help me. _ Terra seemed to stiffen and wiped her eyes. "I...I think Slade said the blast radius was small. These aren't nearly as powerful. But he said...he said I'm supposed to build walls to protect the site when one hits Titans Tower."

"Build it." Raven walked away from her, maintaining and stabilizing Terra's emotions. "And open the tubes. Beast Boy will get you out of here." She didn't let herself look at the changeling. A part of her wanted to drag him aside and kiss him again, but she didn't. Terra was a pile of emotional wreckage, even with Raven's powers as a crutch, and she thought the action would just worry him more.

But apparently, she didn't need to do anything to worry him. Gar's eyes visibly widened as Terra pressed some hidden code on each tube, her shoulders seeming less heavy. Gar watched glass tube after glass tube rise before turning back to Raven. "What are you thinking?"

She ignored him at first. "Thanks, Terra. And I'm getting rid of the problem before it causes any more damage."

"Getting rid of it _how_?" Gar forced her to look at him, grabbing her wrist. "Raven? Raven? What are you doing?"

"I'll be fine." She smiled, only a little, and tried to use her empathetic abilities on him, but Beast Boy noticed. He shook his head to try and get her out of it, and Raven relented from sudden guilt. "Sorry."

"You shouldn't have done that." He held back a scowl. "You don't have to do that to me, Raven." She was quiet, and Gar continued but dropped her arm, "You can just be honest with me."

_If I'm honest with you, you'll try to stop me. _ "These are going to trigger soon. We don't have time to sit and watch the world rot. That isn't Slade's game. That was never it. He's trying to destroy the league and all heroes, slowly watching us turn into nothing. I'm leaving one of them here to get rid of this place." She hesitated and watched to see how he would react. He didn't. "And then Terra will build her little walls and cause this place to collapse once you are all out of here. Make sure she makes them thick enough."

Gar shook his head, "You're going to try and teleport them out of here...aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Can't we just...I don't know, have Green Lantern come and put them in his ring?"

"That might set them off immediately."

Gar scoffed, "And yours won't? What if that triggers them?"

She didn't know how to answer that. They didn't have the time to wait for another hero to come or to argue about this. This was the best plan she could think of right now, even though it terrified her. "My powers aren't...earthly. The Black Stars might not be able to feed off them."

"But you don't know that."

That burning, empty feeling was returning, and Raven realized she really wanted to kiss him again. But neither of them made a move towards each other. Gar looked over his shoulder, to Terra, and then glanced back to Raven, seeming incredibly dissatisfied with the situation. She swallowed before taking a step back towards the tubes and picking up one of the throbbing bundles in her hands. It felt mushy, sticky—like a clump of glowing chop meat—and Raven scowled before grabbing the next one and the next one slowly. "That thing you said before, Gar, I..."

"Don't answer me right now." He looked at Terra and then the Black Stars in her hands. "Just go, do your thing, and we'll just see each other again, back at the Tower."

Raven nodded. "Right. Back at the Tower." She wanted to wait for Gar to leave before she tried, but seeing him cemented there, purple sneakers seemingly unmoving on the ground, she exhaled, waved a short goodbye to Terra, and left for home.

* * *

><p>AN:

I should be doing real work. Sigh. Don't care. Leave a review and thanks all for reading!


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